diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 13 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 79053-0.txt | 10554 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 79053-h/79053-h.htm | 13663 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 79053-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 0 -> 31353 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 1 |
6 files changed, 24242 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f57f44 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text +*.htm text +*.html text +*.png binary +*.jpg binary +*.svg text +*.pdf binary +*.bmp binary +*.zip binary +*.midi binary +*.mp3 binary diff --git a/79053-0.txt b/79053-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e15e52 --- /dev/null +++ b/79053-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10554 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79053 *** + + + + + THE RED GODS + + (_LES DIEUX ROUGES_) + + By JEAN D'ESME + + A ROMANCE + + _Translated from the French by_ + MOREBY ACKLOM + + NEW YORK + E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY + 681 FIFTH AVENUE + + COPYRIGHT, 1924 + BY E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY + + _All Rights Reserved_ + + Printed in the United States of America + + + + + TRANSLATOR'S NOTE + + +This extraordinary story undoubtedly had its inception in a peculiar +passage in the Report of a French official mission in Indo-China in +1912, entitled _Les Jungles Moïs_ (The Moï Jungles). The translation of +the passage runs as follows: + + "This is not the first time that I have met this strange story of + savage men, dwellers in the forests of the mountains. They have + been reported from the wild region of the Annamite range. According + to the local descriptions these 'savages' must be covered with a + thick mat of red hair. They have been very seldom met with and are + now never seen; but everywhere one still comes upon the traces + which they left behind them." + +Romances of the discovery of prehistoric or vanished races are not +uncommon; but I cannot recall any in which the discovery was made the +subject of as splendid a piece of descriptive work, and at the same +time of as poignantly tragic a drama as in this instance. I think even +the most hardened reader of adventure-stories will admit that in _The +Red Gods_ he has got something distinctly out of the common. + + +M. A. + + + + + CONTENTS + + + PROLOGUE: IN TSEN-TAC'S OPIUM DEN + + I. SAIGON + + II. UP THE RIVER + + III. A FELLOW TRAVELER + + IV. POST 32 + + V. AT THE MISSION + + VI. AN ENTHUSIAST DISCOURSES ON PRE-HISTORIC REMAINS + + VII. THE SILENT VILLAGE + + VIII. LOVE IN THE FOREST + + IX. AN INTERVIEW WITH A SORCERESS + + X. THE FUGITIVE + + XI. A DESPERATE ADVENTURE + + XII. THOSE LEFT BEHIND + + XIII. THE FUGITIVE'S STORY + + XIV. INTO THE UNKNOWN + + XV. DEEPENING MYSTERY + + XVI. NEAR THE END OF THE JOURNEY + + XVII. A FREAK OF NATURE + + XVIII. BACK IN THE STONE AGE + + XIX. OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE + + XX. INSIDE THE TEMPLE + + XXI. THE LAW OF GONDWANA + + XXII. WANDA TELLS HER STORY + + XXIII. A TERRIBLE BARGAIN + + XXIV. THE RESCUE + + XXV. ESCAPE + + XXVI. A MESSAGE FROM JIENG + + + + + THE RED GODS + + + + + LIST OF PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS + + + _Europeans_ + + PIERRE DE LURSAC A young administrative official of French Indo-China. + FATHER RAVENNES Priest of the Apostolic Mission to the Banhars. + MICHAEL REDESKI Of the French army: Lieutenant in service in Indo-China. + WANDA His sister. + RABAUD Captain of an up-country river steamer. + JULES BRESSOND The narrator of the story: a boyhood friend of de Lursac's. + + + + _Natives_ + + JIENG Chief sorceress and high priestess of the Moï tribes. + MAA-WANG "The-Man-who-goes-in-Front." + NGUR } + PÂA } Native guides. + HMON A woman of the Stieng tribe. + + + _Scene_: The city of Saigon (capital of French Indo-China) and + the unexplored, inaccessible forests surrounding the Pou-Kas, the + principal peak of the Annamite range. + + + + + + THE RED GODS + + + + + PROLOGUE + + IN TSEN-TAC'S OPIUM DEN + + +This is the door, here, in front of me! A heavy door of teak, black and +shiny. However, with my hand on the iron latch, I hesitate, fighting +the subtle uneasiness and irritation which I feel rising in me. At the +back of my mind a question forms: why do I come here, to the bottom +of this hidden alley at night, I, who seldom or never touch the opium +pipe? Hardly at all: perhaps five or six pipes now and again on Sundays +at the hour of siesta! Six little pipes, that's nothing! Any regular +opium-smoker will tell you so. Then, why have I come here tonight? Why? +As a matter of fact I feel that my presence here, behind this back-shop +in the heart of the Chinese town of Cho-lon is silly and without +excuse.... So silly and aimless that already I have withdrawn my hand, +with my mind made up to retrace my steps along the sombre corridor +and back through the sumptuous mart of the worthy Tsen-Tac, who sells +to knowing connoisseurs precious silks and out-of-the-way curiosities +brought by the big-bellied junks from China ... and who in addition +dispenses, with discretion, to a few genuine and carefully chosen +smokers, the priceless calm of opium. + +Yes, I shall not stay.... It will be better. The darkling spirit of the +Drug shall not glide through my blood tonight. I am off.... But fate at +this very moment decides otherwise. At my back, in the thick shadows a +raucous voice cries: + +"In the name of Confucius, get on there!" + +And instinctively, pushing the swing-door, I enter. A puff of acrid +odor, the smell of the wonderful perfume of Shandoo, at once rough and +voluptuous, assails my senses and makes my heart leap! + +Behind me the closed door swings open roughly, and the man who +addressed me stumbles into the room. Pushing by me, he advances to +the "boy" who has run up to meet him. For a second I follow him with +my eyes. His form is broken and bent, very tall, and so thin that it +accentuates the fullness of the white linen clothes which flap about +his limbs and at moments soften the jagged outline of his bones. A +curious figure, like that of an old man, skeletonized and moribund; and +the more surprising, in that certain signs reveal the strange contrast +of an undeniable youthfulness in him. Sure signs: his step, rapid and +full of strength; his movements, quick and jerky, peculiar to those who +are under the domination of the Drug, when the brown hour of the smoke +has arrived. But what do I care about this unknown man? He hurries on +toward the bottom of the room and disappears. Without knowing why, I +sigh with relief, and in my turn step forward. The "boy," as I come, +smiles, showing his black enamelled teeth, and points out to me the +bed which lies along the wall, the great plank platform on which the +smokers lie and dream their strange dreams, while about them watches +and drifts the spirit of the opium. + +With a nod, I assent and give my order. + +"Bamboo: small pipe." + +And, heavily, my body weary, I fling myself down on the bare wood +polished with use, the coolness of which, through the cloth of my coat, +penetrates deliciously to my flesh.... + + * * * * * + +The time drifts away.... How many hours? I do not know, I do not care +to know. Stretched out on my side, with my eyes fixed on the little +crystal lamp topped with its conical globe in which the flame, like a +living tongue, points upward, steady and reddish, I watch the movements +of the "boy" plunging the steel needle into the sticky Shandoo, turning +it over the lamp and rolling it on the brown bowl of the pipe. + +With my lips glued to the bamboo tube, blackened by opium and soaked +with its deadly taste, I breathe in slowly, taking the long inhalations +of the practiced smoker. Then, with my head thrown back on the pillow +of smooth hollowed-out wood, I fix my eyes on the acrid smoke which +trickles from my expanded nostrils, and of which the clouds, circling +in spirals, rise slowly to the beams of the ceiling. All is silence. +The only sound besides the bubbling of the cooked pills of opium is the +scratching of the needles on the pipe bowls. Across the room a divine +happiness floats, filling with dreams the warm dusk which the light of +the great silken Chinese lanterns does not disturb,--just as it should +be! + +Indescribable smell of opium smoke! I no longer think of anything else! +It is the whole universe for me now; and my whole life flows in the +great sweetness which drifts through my veins, lulling my senses and +making the very marrow of my bones and the fibres of my muscles weak +with pleasure!... + +Eighth or tenth pipe? What does it matter! The curtains are drawn, the +air is still and pleasant, the light is faint, as it ought to be, too +faint for any eyes but those of the smokers. Here and there along the +platform the little lamps burn, like will-o-the-wisps dancing on the +dark and sleeping surface of the wood, and the stretched-out bodies lie +along the wall, the bamboo tubes in their mouths, while the "boy" bends +over and puts fresh opium in the empty pipes. + +Slowly, very slowly,--for what is the good of hurrying--are not dreams +everlasting?--I raise my hand. My lips, stiff, clumsy, manage to form +the single word: + +"Tea." + +Silently the Annamese goes off, and I smile with satisfaction that he +has been able to understand me without having made me go through the +effort of explaining myself. Decidedly Tsen-Tac is a worthy proprietor, +whose servants have been trained by practiced opium-smokers. I let my +eyes close. Under my neck I feel the wood of the pillow like a cool and +comforting hand, and in my brain, which has become clear and subtle, +all sorts of strange things appear and move about,--apparitions which +may be souvenirs of another life or visions of another world,--things +reserved for the initiates of opium,--at any rate things which are +strangely alive in the recesses of my brain and which one day without +doubt will come into my human thoughts ... unless, when the effects of +the opium have passed away I forget them--which is quite possible. For +everything is possible! Everything! Except the one thing: that anyone +should touch or interfere with a smoker who is dreaming over his pipe. + +I lift my lids and turn my head slightly towards the hand which has +just dropped on my shoulder and committed this most inexcusable +offence. My glance steals upwards, full of disgust, along the wrist and +the arm, up to the face of the man who does not even know that one must +pay absolute respect to the intoxication of the opium-smoker. At first +with disgust, then in astonishment. It seems to me, indeed, that I know +the face bent towards me. Where have I seen that expression before ... +and when? It was a long time ago, certainly, a very long time. The eyes +are deep and black and despairing, eyes which one does not quickly +forget. + +Now the man speaks in a hoarse, muffled voice. Calling me by my name, +he says: + +"Good evening, Jacques. I see that you are always sensible, as usual. +You have had only ten pipes and here you are waiting for the green tea +of Yun-nan which the boy is making for you. Only ten pipes, and already +you are disgusted at me!" + +He has sat himself down in the attitude of one of those Lao-ese idols, +with his legs crossed, his hands flat on his thighs, and he smiles upon +me with a faint baffling smile. + +"Yes, I see this surprises you. But I understood your look at once when +you raised your head towards me. Yes, I saw your scorn at the bottom +of your eyes; exactly as I recognized you at once, when you came to +stretch yourself out beside me, without noticing, and I said to myself: +Here is he with whom I spent my childhood, and who does not know +me,--_because I have aged so much_,--I have aged too soon, much too +soon for other men to know me, even when they have been my childhood +friends." + +He bends over me and looks at me strangely. He has something ironical +and yet almost tender in his expression that I observe with curiosity. +Then he lifts his head and speaks out loud the very thought which has +just crossed my mind. + +"No. I am neither drunk nor mad! Scarcely twenty-five pipes. At this +moment I have had my exact dose. Just enough to make me extraordinarily +subtle and clairvoyant; and it is because of that I am speaking to +you. I admit I hesitated a long time ... or a short one, I do not know +which. What do you think of it? Is it worth the trouble? + +"Who am I? Bah!... I already told you: your best friend, he with whom +you lived for years side by side, who shared your games, your pleasures +and your sorrows of childhood. Don't you remember? Well, I am not +surprised. I always thought that you had a mediocre brain. Unlucky that +the Drug itself has not succeeded in improving it." + +He interrupts himself for a second to shrug his shoulders with a yawn +of pity. His silence seems to expect an answer, yet nothing in me +protests against the impertinence, at once brutal and kindly, of this +unknown. The opium has permeated my soul with wisdom, kindliness and +peace. Indifferent to his questions, I let my eyes wander over the +panels inlaid with mother-of-pearl; the red hangings, embroidered with +yellow characters, which cover the walls of the smoke-room; the faint +white-clad forms, which move fitfully from time to time on the long +vista of the platform, sighing heavily. But already the harsh voice of +the stranger is beginning again: + +"Really, don't you remember Dinard? The beach at Port Blanc, blazing +in the sunshine; the green water of the little bay in which we bathed +every day in July? Don't you remember the house where we spent our +vacations, covered all over with wild vine, its two little doorways +of green wood, the spindle trees in line along the railings, and the +clumps of hydrangeas on which the sun, striking through the trees, +flung splashes of gold in which the blackbirds used to come and +scold?... + +"And then later, don't you remember our school, the dear old Colonial +School of the Avenue d'Observation, and the Luxembourg,--the old Luco +where we used to leave our 'box' on autumn evenings and go to gaze at +the falling dusk and the first yellow leaves which the breeze drove +fluttering down from the trees and rolled gaily round the white statues +on their gray pedestals?... + +"What! You don't? You remember nothing?... Doesn't that recall anything +to you? Poor brute!..." + +Again he has bent over me, and he smiles with his face close to mine. +But in vain I seek in my past and dig among the recollections of dead +days in the corners of my memory. I cannot manage to recognize this man +who pretends to have been the play-fellow of my youth. However, Yes!... +I feel that everything that he has just reminded me of is right, and +that these scenes that he has revived were formerly the background of +my life! But what about him? I fling down my eyes with weariness and +even with irritation. + +Nevertheless, his voice goes on, sadder and more confidential than ever. + +"No! I won't insist on it, but nevertheless open your eyes and look. +Yes, that's right. Look at me long and carefully. Well? Is my poor face +ugly enough, with its white hair, its wan gray skin withered by fever, +washed by the rain, torn by the thorns? Is it terrible enough, with its +bones that stick out all over it, with all these wrinkles which make it +look like an old tragic mask from some Chinese theatre? + +"Disgusting face, isn't it? Well! I have just come out of hospital +after four months in bed--four months in bed--and before that, four +months more of suffering, weariness, and ghastly terror, of daily fear +and deadly companionship! That changes a man, I tell you; and I forgive +you for not knowing me, since even I myself at times have recoiled with +fright before the unknown image that the looking-glass shows me!" + +He lifts his head. A twitch, a sort of intermittent cramp of his lip +drags his mouth to one side violently, changing and deforming the +face, which becomes livid, while in his staring eyes a sudden terrible +light shines for an instant and passes away. He lifts his arms in a +gesture of despair and weariness; then in a low voice, as if it were to +himself, with a little dry laugh which comes and goes in jerks: + +"Just a rag! This is what one year in this country has made of me. Yes, +this healthy and vigorous body and this willing brain which I brought +here a few months ago are nothing now but rags and tatters, used up and +withered, in which my soul and youth, though still alive, flutter and +are slowly dying. And soon I shall be nothing but a vague memory which +will gradually fade out day by day in the hearts of those who love me. +Then soon,--so quickly--yes, so quickly--I shall have gone altogether. +Then, who in this vile life will think of Pierre de Lursac?" + +"--_Pierre!_" + +I must have spoken too loud. Upon the sleeping-platform two or three +smokers, like white spectres, begin to move and grumble at the intruder +who is disturbing the serenity of the place.... What does that matter +to me! With my arms stretched out, I repeat, my voice trembling:-- + +"--_Pierre! Pierre!_" + +He bends towards me and with his two hands gripping my shoulders he +holds me down. + +"Quiet ... yes ... it is I.... But quiet. I am satisfied.... Don't +move. There is nothing important enough to allow of your disturbing +your opium trance, and nothing is worse than getting excited when you +have just finished smoking your dose.... Don't trouble to talk." + +He falls silent, his expression grave and thoughtful. On my part, while +anxiously watching him, I dream of my childhood days and my youth. +_Lursac!_... Is it really he whom I have before me? Once more I see him +in my mind coming ashore at Saigon some few months after his graduation +from college, scarcely a year ago.... I recall his enthusiasm, his +ardor, his thirst for adventure, and the air of strength and manliness, +of youth and good looks, which glowed in him. And now I look at him +feverishly again. He is right ... a rag ... a miserable rag.... + +"But why? Why?... What can have happened?" + +With a sombre eye he stares at me in silence. Slowly he changes his +attitude of a Buddhist statue and stretches himself on his side, his +hollowed face turned towards my lamp. Without words and without a +wasted movement, he takes up the pipe that I have laid down. His long +hands, fleshless and transparent, busy themselves in the prescribed +motions, always the same. With eyes closed he smokes. + +Pipe follows pipe. A great silence weighs upon the human beings who +stagnate in this hall filled with the oppressive perfume of the Drug. A +silence only broken now and again for a moment by the distant striking +of a gong, which marks the swallowing up of one hour after another +in eternity ... and, from time to time, unreal and without echo in +this house of nothingness, a woman's nervous laugh sends a spasm of +discomfort through the calm. + +Then, in my turn I take up the pipe again.... + + * * * * * + +Then, suddenly, Lursac is talking. I watch him with vague curiosity. He +is stretched out on his back. The pupils of his wide-open eyes, dilated +and black, stare out, immobile and sightless, like two dead beasts. +He speaks. My brain, soaked in the bitter smoke, picks its way among +the aimless swarming of thoughts which rise up, melt away, and vanish +without leaving any trace.... + +One after the other, the smokers get up and go. They have the +staggering and hesitating gait of drunkards. Their linen clothes make +patches of ghostly white against the red hangings of the hall.... The +dull slam of the door signals the departure of each in turn.... + +Lursac is still talking.... + +Each one of his words falls into my brain and is engraved there so +indelibly that I am sure that the next time I smoke opium and become +entranced as I am now, I shall be able to reproduce them all, from +the first to the last, without omitting a single one.... Yes.... I am +absolutely certain of that. + +However, tonight I do not feel able to distinguish whether all this is +not a silly dream--the recollection of some life I have lived before in +some other world.... + +Yes, I'm drunk with opium, drunk ... drunk ... drunk, to such a point +that I am unable to recognize this long pale thing,--this hand that he +is playing with and caressing ... this thing which looks like a +hand ... a woman's.... Idiot! What is it?... Pshaw!... Let's go to +sleep.... + + * * * * * + +Time flows on.... Seconds and minutes, parted one by one from the +present, plunge themselves inevitably into the shadowy ocean of the +always growing past.... On the walls the red hangings begin to get +paler. They become pink, then mauve, under the gentle fingers of the +dawn which steals bluely through the window panes and between the +shutters into the smoke-clouded opium hall. The last words of Lursac +penetrate to my ears in a vague murmur. + +"There you are, I'm finished.... Now, you know ... and nobody but you +will know.... Nobody!... But I am glad to have told all this to you +whom chance has placed at the last mile-stone of my journey. It would +have worried me that you might have thought me mad, judging me by the +gossip of some commonplace incident, or have supposed me crazed by the +Drug and fever; as there will be those who will not fail to cry it +aloud in their miserable papers!!! One lunatic the less! ... a quick +and easy epitaph, but one which fits me well...." + +There is a long untroubled silence. Then a violent explosion seems to +tear my brain apart. What is the fool playing at--?... Warm, heavy +drops are falling on my hand ... and as I half open my eyes I spring +up, staring and haggard. Pierre is lying beside me ... bent double, +like a useless, broken toy. From his face, disfigured by a gaping hole, +blood rolls, covering my cheek, my forehead, my clothes. And I sit +there stupefied, without understanding. Only after the first minutes of +disturbance and agitation, and while they are carrying away his great +bony body, do I see at the end of the arm, hanging down and swaying +as the carriers stagger along with their terrible burden, the shining +steel of a revolver, round which his fingers are still clenched. + + * * * * * + +Eight days ... that was eight days ago!... + +And every evening since--because my nerves were torn to pieces and +because the Shandoo, as I had foreseen, allowed all the details of my +friend's story to rise from the bottom of my memory,--every evening +since then, I have written, bit by bit, faithfully, the strange story +that he told me before killing himself. I have not written it for +myself, _who know_, but for others--for the people here, for the people +in France; in a word, for all those unbelievers who in the darkness of +their blindness think they know everything, although they are beset +with ignorance, and believe that they have dislodged the Unknown from +the last shadowy haunt in which it is hiding. Although they have no +suspicion, even, of the mystery which is here, there, everywhere, close +to them, and which I am the only one to hold under my hands.... The +only one!... + + * * * * * + +... There, I have finished.... I have left out nothing:--not a single +particular, not a word. Everything has been reproduced exactly. +In any case I could not forget anything, because of this woman's +hand,--this long pale hand so perfectly embalmed that one would swear +it was alive and ready to move any minute. There it is: the signet on +its ring-finger bears the following charge: _Dexter, argent, a lion +sable--Sinister, azure, a chevron or_ ... and now, out through the +window, open to the sweet and placid night of Annam, I am going to +fling it, so that I may be no longer haunted by it, may no longer have +to see it there.... + +There it goes, _splash_! + +It must have fallen in the canal. And there the black mud will soon +cover it for ever.... + +... And I shall never smoke opium again, never!... But that has nothing +to do with this.... + +And here is the story that he told me[1].... + +[Footnote 1: Captain Jacques Bressond fell on the French front, July +28, 1917, in the attack on the Chemin des Dames. At the bottom of +his dispatch case among the personal souvenirs which he had asked me +to send to his family if he was killed, there lay a large yellow, +commercial-looking envelope with the inscription "For Jean." In the +envelope there were the pages that follow, accompanied by a roll of +parchment covered with unknown characters, probably in the Banhar +language. My sole care has been to see to the publication of Bressond's +text with a mixed feeling of respect and tenderness for his heroic +death and friendship for the man himself. Although the names given by +Bressond are real ones I have not changed a single word of his story, +for the correctness of which I take full responsibility. + +J. D'E.] + + + + + CHAPTER I + + SAIGON + + +On the threshold of the office Pierre de Lursac stopped. + +Behind him the beaded hanging rustled as it fell into place. Carefully +he folded up the paper of instructions that had been handed to him a +few minutes earlier by the Director of Personnel, and as he thought +over the orders which he had just received he crossed the veranda. + +Below the balustrade of the porch lay stretched the tropical vegetation +of the gardens of Government House. Walks, shining and carefully +tended, wound about the clumps of rhododendrons and the green lawns +over which the flame-trees and tamarinds flung round patches of shade. + +When he came to the foot of the main staircase of gray stone which led +to the park, Pierre ordered the _linh_ who was on guard a few steps +away: + +"My rickshaw." + +The rifleman immediately barked a short order, and a light vehicle +appeared from one of the side avenues. Following the lively and +cadenced jog-trot of its coolie, it described a semicircle and drew up, +shafts on the ground, in front of the young man. + +Jumping nimbly into it, Pierre lay back on the cushions cased in white +coverings, and then, as the runner, ready to start, looked up at him +with a questioning face expecting directions, Lursac signed to the +_linh_ to come closer. + +"I don't speak Annamese well enough to make myself understood. Tell him +I want to go back to the hotel." + +The rifleman gave an elaborate salute, and this military gesture, +usually sharp and formal, seemed astonishing when performed by this +little puny soldier who looked like a mixture of a toy and a warrior +out of a comic operetta. + +He acknowledged the order: + +"_Gia bam qua lon._"[2] + +[Footnote 2: Very well, sir.] + +And he immediately launched forth into verbose explanations to the +coolie, the nasal syllables echoing strangely in the sonorous silences +of the park. The coolie nodded and started off with a supple and +rhythmic gait; while Pierre, lying spread out against the back of the +little car, watched the naked back of the runner, down which great +drops of sweat were already beginning to roll. As soon as they left the +shady alleys of the park, and while they were crossing the square which +stretches in front of the Government offices, a wave of heat enveloped +them. It was nearly four o'clock. From the burning ground the hot air +rose in waves, while above the trees, flooded with dazzling light, +the lifeless and quivering atmosphere vibrated in the heat. Although +he wore a cork helmet and was clothed in the lightest of white linen, +Pierre experienced a feeling of prostration at the touch of this fiery +breath. When the rickshaw at last entered the shade of the avenue of +lofty tamarinds, he sighed with relief. A little coolness caused by +the rapidity of their progress caressed his face, relaxed the feeling +of depression in his temples, spread along his body and refreshed him +with a sensation of well-being. He flung himself back, stretched out +his legs, and shut his eyes, giving himself up to the swaying of the +light vehicle whose rubber-tired wheels rode softly on the dust of the +roadway. + +As the running coolie slowed down a little in consequence of a block in +the traffic, Lursac heard a voice calling to him. + +"Hullo! Pierre!" + +Surprised, he turned his head and shot a quick glance along the edge +of the street. On the sidewalk, smiling and waving to attract his +attention, a lieutenant of colonial infantry was standing and calling +to him: + +"Come here!" + +Lursac recognized him immediately. + +"Jacques!" + +Touching the shoulder of the coolie with his walking stick, he cried: + +"Toi.... Toi...." + +It was the one word which he had so far succeeded in remembering of the +Annamese language since his arrival in Saigon. + +Prodded from behind, the runner had immediately stopped, and Pierre, +jumping out of the rickshaw, hurried toward the officer who came to +meet him. They greeted each other with the light of pleasure in their +eyes: then Jacques Bressond, drawing back a couple of steps, looked his +friend up and down. Lursac, upright in the middle of the sidewalk, drew +himself up to his full height so that his white tunic clung tightly to +his figure and threw into relief his splendid chest, the free swing of +his shoulders and the harmonious strength which showed itself in his +erect carriage and the spring of his legs. In fact, a fine figure of a +man, whose strong, talented face was set off by two brilliant dark eyes +deeply set. Jacques took him by the arm. + +"I found your message when I got back from my trip this morning; I +immediately ran off to your hotel, where I shouted till the whole place +rang!... The service boy, after bowing and scraping, gibbered at me: +'M. Lursac been gone, two o'clock.' It was enough for me to understand +what he meant.... What luck to meet you like this!... What are you +doing?" + +"Nothing," said Pierre, "I am just going back to the hotel." + +"All right, then I will take charge of you. We will go and take an +aperitif together and then we will make the 'Tour of Inspection' in a +carriage." + +"Tour of Inspection?" + +"Yes, the swagger thing to do, the Avenue des Acacias of Saigon +high-life, the fashionable six-to-eight-o'clock affair.... It is +curious and instructive, as you will see! You'll come, won't you?" + +Lursac agreed. + +"With pleasure. I have been here for three days now, and already I am +beginning to feel my loneliness weighing on me. They told me that you +were going to be absent for another fortnight." + +He threw some change to the rickshaw coolie, who made himself scarce. + +"Yes, but I had to turn in here to get new instructions before +continuing my journey of official inspection." + +They had resumed their walk side by side down the Rue Catinat. Under +the sun which beat down from a sky of hard, cloudless blue that glowed +like a metal dome, the life of the town stagnated, prostrated by the +heat. + +In the shops, which the lowered shades protected with a zone of shadow, +the customers seated at their ease bargained casually over the precious +knick-knacks in lacquer, ivory, and mother-of-pearl which every now +and then gave off a vivid sparkle of light. On their haunches at their +benches behind the glass of the shop front the native jewelers, clad +only in the soft _cai-ao_ of fine linen, hammered out complicated and +original designs on the gold or silver of an umbrella handle which +would eventually be the prized possession of some coarse western +barbarian! + +The interior of the shops, guessed at rather than seen through the +opening of the drawn curtains, seemed like oases of shade and coolness, +and attracted with some subtle charm. + +As they went along Jacques explained: + +"Since I found on my table this morning all your letters from France +announcing your arrival here I have been thinking of nothing but Paris. +I have been living in the midst of the recollections which you have +brought to life again.... Do you remember when we used to start off for +the Valley de Chevreuse on Saturdays?" + +They crossed the square, at the bottom of which the municipal theatre +reared its ornate façade in imitation of a Greek temple, opposite the +wide semicircle from which the Boulevard Charner could be seen blazing +with light and baking in the sun. + +When they had arrived on the pavement opposite, Jacques Bressond, +pointing out the café which occupied the angle between the Square and +the Rue Catinat, said: + +"Let us stop here. We will take a seat on the terrace. For you who +are new to Saigon the sight will be worth while. This is exactly the +right moment, the exquisite moment, for now, at the slight pretence of +coolness that the evening breeze brings with it, the fashionable people +of the town gather to suck iced drinks through straws--milky absinthe +shot with iridescent colors, emerald crème de menthe and the entire +gamut of cocktails, dark and light and rainbow-hued." + +Pierre smiled, and seating himself he asked: + +"Do you like the country?" + +"Well, like every other place, it has its good side and its bad side. +However, it seems to me that the pleasures are more numerous than the +troubles. And then, why shouldn't I like Saigon? Of the last six months +I have spent four or five exploring the bush, in climbing sandy hills, +wandering through the impenetrable confusion of the forests of Annam +and upper Tonkin, and in floundering about in the green mud of the +canals and the creeks of Laos...." + +"Do you know Laos, then?" + +"Pretty well. I have made two trips there on geodetic surveys." + +"Splendid. You can give me some information then. Here, see where the +chief is sending me." + +He pulled out of his pocket the paper of instructions that he had been +given earlier in the day and extended it to Bressond. + +The boy, clothed in a long tunic of white linen and with his head +wound in a turban of linen set down before them on the bamboo table a +tray heaped with bottles of many colors. While he measured and mixed +with the precision of habit the liquids and ingredients of an oyster +cocktail in the glasses filled with cracked ice, Jacques Bressond ran +over the paper which Lursac had handed him. + +The boy, having completed the mixture, placed the glasses before the +young men and disappeared. + +Bressond passed back the paper of instructions to Lursac. + +"Post 32? Don't know it. Haven't they given you any other details?" + +"No.... Oh, yes, wait a minute, ... yes. The Chief of Personnel told me +that the post was at the foot of the Pou-Kas." + +Jacques Bressond raised his head. + +"Ah, wait.... Pou-Kas? Isn't the post on the bank of the canal?" + +"Yes, I have to go there part of the way in an ox-cart and part in a +boat.... Do you know it?" + +The officer sucked a few drops of his cocktail from the end of his +straw and reflected. + +Beside him with stretched out legs Pierre watched with curiosity the +Rue Catinat, along which people were beginning to appear. Five o'clock +struck in the distance with clear metallic strokes. The terrace of the +café at once began to fill with patrons in white waistcoats and light +dresses. Like a swollen river, the fashionable artery of Saigonese +life brimmed with a noisy wave of carriages, of street hawkers and +promenaders. From café to café the newsboys ran, slipping from one +table to another, yelping the name of a local newspaper; while, +opposite, two Chinese with crumpled features got out of a malabar and +disappeared into a tailor shop. + +The café orchestra suddenly dashed into a waltz. Sharp bursts of +music dominated the confused noise which mounted from the pavement, +and a languorous tune just imported from Europe was borne aloft on +two squeaky violins accompanied by a husky-voiced piano and a shaky +mandoline. + +Vaguely soothed, Pierre abandoned himself to the pleasure of being +there, peacefully situated under the punkahs, with an iced drink in +front of him, in the midst of this tumult and heat which surrounded him. + +Bressond's voice stirred his placidity: + +"The Pou-Kas.... I seem to remember that.... I must have passed it +on my last trip but one. I have trekked about the country more than +a little. That was certainly one of my roughest trips. Yes ... wait, +now I remember.... It is the region which stretches at the foot of the +great Annamite mountain-chain, in the middle of the forest, almost on +the Burmese frontier ... a ghastly country, my poor old chap! You will +never find anything to amuse yourself with there." + +Pierre smiled absent-mindedly. His eyes ran along the side of the wall +and followed the jerky progress of a _congai_ whose black silk tunic +and large white _cai-quan_ appeared and disappeared amongst the throng. + +"Bah!" said he, "I didn't come here for amusement. In any case they +didn't pretend at the office that the post possessed anything to +recommend it." + +Bressond sipped his cocktail and shrugged his shoulders. + +"Nothing to recommend it? I should say not! To begin with, you will +arrive there in the middle of the rainy season. Secondly, you will have +to live in the middle of this clump of mountains hardly explored as +yet, alone with a dozen native soldiers of the military station, and +... it's a very advanced point, isn't it?" + +"Yes, Post 32. Moï territory, it appears." + +Bressond started. + +"In Moï territory.... Number 32.... By Buddha!... Now I know. It's even +worse than I thought. Well, well! You are certainly going strong for +a beginner.... But ... what on earth do they want to send a military +administrator out there for?" + +Pierre, nettled by the tone in which he made this exclamation, looked +at him fixedly. + +"They are sending me to join a lieutenant who has just been nominated +to the post. It is a special appointment. My business will be to +inaugurate the civil organization. But what is there unusual about this +Post 32?" + +Bressond shook his head. + +"What is there unusual? I do not know exactly ... and nobody here +knows anything more than I do. At any rate it is the worst hole in the +whole of Upper Laos! But, of course you know how they speak of it ... +'recently established' ... all humbug, my boy!" + +And as Pierre shot a look of interrogation at him he continued: + +"Yes, all humbug! As a matter of fact, the post was instituted for the +first time at least six or seven years ago. It was Longères who had it. +At the end of six months, no Longères, no Post 32. A flood had swept +away the settlement and its inhabitants. At least that is the version +that the surviving members of the garrison gave of the accident.... +One had to be satisfied with that.... However, for three years no one +mentioned Post 32. Then one fine day some official or other digging +through his papers discovered that for the security of our dominion in +Indo-China it was indispensable that the post should be re-established." + +A driver, curled up on the seat of his victoria, passed on his way up +the street. Bressond broke off to make him a sign. At the same time +he threw a coin on the table and as the boy ran up he pushed Pierre +de Lursac before him into the carriage, giving a brief order to the +coachman. + +"The tour of inspection through the Botanical Gardens. You understand?" + +"I understand, O Mandarin of two stripes." + +At a lively trot the two native ponies, tossing their ruffled manes as +they went, drew the carriage down the Rue Catinat, turned to the left +and followed the line of the quays, along which in a brown and black +medley the sampans showed their masts and the lines of their decks. + +Something resembling coolness floated down the bed of the river; the +light began to soften, melting its violent golds into shades of mauve. +The dying day threw over the white town some of its purple splendor. +And under the hoofs of the horses a slight dust rose like a delicate +honey-colored cloud. + +Pierre had put his hand on his friend's arm. + +"And then?" he asked. + +Bressond turned to look at him. + +"Then what?... Ah! yes.... Post 32! Well! they re-established it, as +I told you. And this time it was Dorcel who took charge. For a year +everything went all right. And then suddenly the news burst like a bomb +in the newspapers: all over with Post 32 again! But, as it had been +rebuilt on a spur of the mountain, this time it wasn't a flood, but a +fire, that had destroyed it. As for Dorcel, he just managed to arrive +at the hospital and died without being able to throw the slightest +light on this second accident to the celebrated Post 32...." + +The victoria, now having caught up with the procession of carriages +which was defiling along the promenade, slackened speed and took its +turn.... In the opposite direction another line of vehicles was passing +at a foot pace--buggies with thin wheels, high-seated tilburys, gigs +drawn by horses driven tandem, shining victorias whose cushions were +rich with bright dresses and brilliant umbrellas. + +Bressond's hand was ever at his military cap in the salute, while here +and there he shot a smile or a nod to acquaintances or ladies whom he +knew. + +Leaning against the backboard of the carriage, Pierre de Lursac amused +himself by contemplating this long row of colonial fashion. Before his +unaccustomed eyes, Saigon society lay spread, offering its celebrities +and its peculiarities for his inspection. + +Bressond meanwhile, a guide as willing as thoroughly informed, +explained and made comments. In a few quick picturesque words, he drew +a portrait, sketched a caricature, made an imputation and gave the +whole story of the person at the bar. + +When they had arrived at the end of the promenade, they turned and +went back by the way they had come, still followed and preceded by +the other carriages. The daylight faded softly. From each side of the +long dusty reddish road the flooded rice-fields stretched away like +swampy checker-boards, on which the docile black buffaloes driven by +ragged youngsters slowly plodded along with their enormous curved horns +silhouetted against the pale sky in the shape of widely rounded lyres. +With shrill cries a flock of herons floated down over a clump of palms, +in the shade of which was a huddle of huts. + +The countryside, which was gradually dropping to rest in the peace of +the dying day, was archaic, oriental and primitive beyond belief. + +Pierre remarked upon it, and Bressond, with a shrug, assented: + +"It is a beautiful country--beautiful but strange, and not the least +like the conventional Far East that is so popular in France!" + +He thought a minute and went on: + +"After all, that is not so astonishing, for very few people, even here, +know Indo-China ... very few...." + +"But...." + +"No, believe me, it is a country that no one among us really knows, nor +will know for a long time yet. It isn't enough, in order to understand +it, to have traveled through it, not even to have spent two years, +three years or more in it.... No; neither you nor I, who come here +with our European souls and with the mentality of conquerors, neither +you nor I, nor the others of our kind, will ever be able to understand +this race!... For instance, look at the stupidity, the ignorance, of +this official who for the third time has re-established a military +post in an unknown region in the middle of a country not yet +conquered, and which no one has been able to explore and not even +to penetrate ... no one! and on the top of that they send out +an administrator!... To administrate what? ... and above all to +administrate whom? Well, anyway, you will have the chance of meeting +Redeski there.... And that's that." + +Pierre turned to him. + +"Redeski?" + +"Yes, he is the man who commands the fort there.... +Jacques-Boleslas-Michael Redeski, of an old Polish family; a real +count, but as poor as Job of biblical memory. A naturalized Frenchman, +educated in Paris, graduated from St. Cyr: Morocco, the Soudan, +Indo-China, everywhere, in fact, where war and adventure can still +be had. A balanced mind but an emotional nature, at once sympathetic +and sceptical. To sum up, most amusing and original, and the best of +friends. For nearly two years we patrolled the forests together on the +frontier of China. + +"There now, you know him. And anyway you couldn't have started out with +a better comrade, especially in a hole like that...." + +He interrupted himself to look at his watch. + +"Oh, damn! Half past seven!... We have just time to get back." + +They had reached the alleys of the Botanical Garden. Getting up, he +touched the back of the driver. + +"_Mao ... Mao!_[3]... Stop at the Continental." Turning back to Lursac, +he explained: + +"You will excuse me: I am on duty tonight. I have to dine at the club +with the chief engineer of Hong-Hai. An official dinner...." + +[Footnote 3: Quick, quick!] + +The victoria, extricating itself from the long row of carriages, turned +off into an avenue and the ponies were put to a trot. + +Night had fallen. The alleys, over which the branches of the trees met, +looked like long tunnels. Under the arches a warm scent wandered. To +the perfume of opening hibiscus and the purple flame-trees was added +the heavy scent of the sap-filled flowers and the thick rich soil of +Indo-China. + +Through the evening peace which had so suddenly fallen about them the +shrill voices of the crickets mingled their chirping with the echoes of +the ponies' hoofs. Then, suddenly breaking from the shadow and silence, +the carriage swung into the full tide of Saigon's restless noise. + +Above the streets the electric globes poured down their violent +illumination. A tossing crowd surged through the avenues and jammed the +windows of the brilliantly lighted shops. Autos, with blasts of their +horns, forced themselves a passage through the crowds of rickshaws and +malabars descending the Boulevard Charner. In the cafés the orchestras +played feverishly. The carriage, following the Boulevard, turned to +the right and after having traversed part of the Rue Catinat stopped +opposite the Continental. Pierre jumped out on the sidewalk. Leaning +from the carriage, Bressond took leave of him. + +"Good bye, Pierre, and good luck, old man! I would like to have done +more for you, but tomorrow I start out on a mission to Upper Tonkin and +it is very unlikely that I shall be able to see you again here." + +Lursac gave him a strong friendly hand clasp. + +"Good bye, Jacques! and good luck to you also. I will write you from +Post 32." + +"So do, and remember me to Redeski. Now, quick to the club!" + +Drawing the whip sharply over the team, the driver started off. + +When the victoria had disappeared, lost in the crowd of other vehicles, +Pierre crossed the street towards his hotel, but, just as he got to the +sidewalk he started violently: a guttural voice close to him had flung +out the words: + +"_The Pou-Kas is not for white people._" + +He turned round suddenly and with a quick glance searched the +surroundings. In front of him the passers-by were hurrying on their +way. Three _congais_ walked arm in arm, chattering and laughing. Two +rickshaws, side by side, were having a race and were already far +past him. A soup-peddler, his two jars suspended at the ends of a +bar balanced on his shoulders, advertised his wares with a clapper +and cried their merits aloud, while, interfering with his trade, a +street-boy with a basket of earth-n +uts on his arm, called out in a +sing-song voice for customers.... + +Was it he? ... or perhaps this Chinaman, wrapped in a tunic of lavender +silk, who uttered the strange warning?... Or was it not rather this +blind beggar who passed, slow and doubtful, tapping the road with his +staff? + +How was he to know? + +Already the cry of the nut-vendor was losing itself in the general +hubbub; the variegated crowd continued to roll by, carrying away with +it the three _congais_, the Chinaman, the beggar and the soup-vendor, +whose little stove left a red glow in the darkness. More coolies, more +natives came and passed, all nameless, all alike, with their faces +equally yellow and their expressions equally grinning and ape-like. + +In doubt, Pierre stood motionless on the edge of the pavement. Before +him, Saigon, the cosmopolitan meeting place of all races of Europe +and Asia, where the Annamese, the Chinese, the Hindoo, the Malay, the +French, the English, the Japanese, the Russian elbowed each other and +mixed with the confusion--Saigon the Magnificent, the whirlpool of all +religions and all civilizations, the most modern side-by-side with +the most ancient--and lastly, Saigon the French city, in the midst of +tzigane orchestras imported from Europe, awoke and stretched herself +languorously under the warm voluptuous caresses of the Annamese night. + +Regardless of this whirlpool of life which flung itself violently at +him, Pierre, overcome by a strange presentiment of ill fortune and a +wave of loneliness, crossed the threshold of his hotel. + +Inside the door, two "boys," clad in the conventional white tunic, +received him with the customary three salaams, ... three deep salaams, +of which the outward respectfulness could not hide altogether the +servile insolence. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + UP THE RIVER + + +The captain pulled the cord of the ship's whistle. The shrill sudden +call tore its way through the air, floated along the yellow surface +of the water, lingered along the banks of the river and finally lost +itself in the depths of the forest. + +The _Vien-Thian_ turned through a quarter of a circle, nosing out her +way slowly between the banks of mud which showed almost level with +the current, like brown backs of great sleeping saurians. There was +a second call from the whistle, longer this time and more lingering, +which died away softly in the moist, still air. + +Suddenly awakened, Lursac drew himself up and looked about him. Through +the round porthole, beneath which the water slid and gurgled, the +yellow light trickled, showing the gray walls of the cabin. The narrow +little den stowed away in the 'tween decks of the boat vibrated heavily +with every throb from the engine-room next door. Jumping out of his +bunk, Pierre hastily flung on his clothes and went out. In two strides +he reached the ladder screwed to the wall of the passage and climbed +it. The spectacle which the waist of the ship offered him made him stop +for a moment. On the wooden deck, littered with all kinds of parcels, +the natives still lay sleeping,--a picturesque mixture of Annamese, +Chinese, Cambodians and Lao-ese. Amidst the scattered medley of chests, +mats and baskets of all shapes and sizes, their bodies entwined and +pressed close against each other gave the effect of a many-colored +carpet. From the all too narrow deck they had spread into the gunwales +and were even stretched upon the bulwarks in a dangerous sleep, +balanced above the slimy waters of the river. + +Hesitatingly the day broke, dimly showing the left bank of the Me-Kong, +which stretched away into the distance straight and low. Thin and +persistent, the rain fell like gray ashes, streaking the countryside, +while over the earth, still drowned in fog, the light seemed powerless +to spread. + +Pierre had now got as far as the bridge. Upright before the binnacle, +his eyes fixed on the course of the ship, the captain snapped his +orders through the engine-room speaking tube. He was an old man, tall +and thin, but erect, and clothed in khaki-colored linen. His lined +face, baked by the sun and tanned by the weather, had a reddish tinge +which gave him the peculiar appearance of having been kneaded from a +block of the Cambodian earth which showed brick-colored along the sides +of the river. A sailor of the old school, he sported whiskers, whose +whiteness framed and emphasised the softness of his deep blue eyes. + +Approaching him, Pierre gave him a friendly greeting and asked: + +"Are we getting there?" + +Without letting his glance stray from the current against which the +screws were pushing the vessel, the old man replied briefly: + +"Not yet; we are just entering the 'drowned forest.' Look!" + +As a matter of fact, the boat, turning about, was pointed directly +towards the bank. + +Leaning on the bulwarks, Pierre watched the land as it loomed nearer +and larger. The bank, slowly becoming plainer, stretched to the +horizon, cutting the yellow waters with its narrow flat marshy outline. +Gradually the eye could discern the details of the scene: hanging over +the muddy earth and bathing their innumerable roots in the current +the mangroves, with their twisted branches, and the palms with their +slender stems, stood in ranks upon the fen which stretched far to the +west, leprous with moss and spotted with clumps of cane and brush. Far +away, their tops girdled with fog, the rounded masses of the hills +sloped gradually upward. Little by little everything came nearer and +grew larger. In the middle of the current floating masses of leafage +torn from the palms by the rising waters turned slowly round and round +as they drifted by. In spots the trees which the flood had overtaken +stretched their dark tops above the flat water; for the river, breaking +loose, had conquered the giant wood and submerged it. Against the bow +of the boat from time to time branches crashed and were pushed aside +with a dull scraping sound. + +And then, suddenly, clear and mysterious like an avenue in some +nightmare park, the channel appeared. Slowly the _Vien-Thian_ forced +itself into the deep and mysterious heart of the great Cambodian +forest, through which in the dry season the native hunters were wont +to go with their ears pricked and their eyes on the watch questing for +their daily prey. Hidden under the great masses of tamarinds, teak +trees and sandalwoods, of which only the tops were still visible above +the water, the banks of the river had suddenly vanished. Against the +enormous trunks the current frothed and grumbled. Above the submerged +forest-land the fog was gradually lifting: it wound itself between the +rounded summits of the trees and floated gradually towards the sky. +Half seen now through the mist, islets showed, fringed by branches +mixed with giant grasses which draggled in the muddy waters. + +On the deck the crowd of native passengers began to move confusedly. A +deep silence still brooded over them: crushed one against another, the +men smoked without speaking, while crouched on their mats, the women, +silent and shivering, watched the gloomy scene slide by the bow of the +vessel. + +Leaning on the rail, Pierre de Lursac felt all the magic of this +strange voyage in the heart of the "drowned forest," on an invisible +river peopled by ghosts of trees and shadows of islands. Denser and +denser the fog again closed round the boat: and the mob of natives +could only be seen as a vague dark mass. + +On the bridge, hidden in fog, even the captain was no longer visible. +All that remained of him was the sound of his sharp orders shot from +time to time into the mouthpiece of the engine-room speaking tube, with +which amidst the brooding silence he ruled the rhythmic throb of the +engine. + +Suddenly a clear and vigorous feminine voice sounded: + +"What a mad-looking country!" + +In his isolation and amid the monotonous sadness of this voyage, which +had now lasted for a week, the sound of this voice seemed to Pierre the +most unexpected and the most extraordinary of adventures. + +He turned round swiftly and tried to penetrate with his eyes the cold +wall of fog which hung over everything; but he could see nothing. Then, +however, a conversation began between the mysterious unknown and the +captain. + +"Good morning, Père Rabaud. Aren't you surprised, after my hiding +myself for eight days, to meet me on the bridge? Yes, I decided to +clamber up here, you see.... I should have been sorry to miss all this. +What a peculiar sight!" + +"Good morning, Mademoiselle. I don't wonder you think so! But this part +of the world has got a lot of strange things to show! As you said just +now, it's a queer country! You'll see lots of other strange things, no +fear of that." + +The woman's voice with its peculiar metallic timbre sounded again. + +"So much the better." + +The captain groaned. + +"Phew! You say that ... but if you lived as I have for twenty years in +this cursed country ... it isn't quite the same thing as Paris, I can +tell you!..." + +A long ripple of laughter broke the silence. + +"Yes ... but as for me, I have lived in Europe; and there existence is +so monotonous and so exactly the same day after day that I am tired of +it." + +Then there was a short silence and the captain said in a lowered voice: + +"Then you are still determined to go on with your plan?" + +"More than ever, as I feel that he needs me.... Oh! he does not +complain, but in between the lines of the letters that he has written +me I have felt that his loneliness has weighed on him terribly.... Yes, +I know, ... you are going to tell me that my place is not here and that +I shall be a nuisance to him. But he is alone, you understand, and for +him as for me, there can be nothing worse than this isolation which we +have never been able to get used to and against which we have never +ceased to struggle with all our love for each other." + +The tone of her voice had become grave with an undertone of deep +earnestness. Then suddenly it changed and rose again. + +"Are we far from Khône-Sud?" + +"No, ... even now we are getting out of the great 'drowned forest,' and +see, ... the fog is lifting." + +Pierre had to imagine a gesture which he could not see but which a +short silence emphasised; then the captain went on in a low voice and +in a bantering, confidential tone: + +"I have a fellow-traveler for you...." + +Vibrant and authoritative her response leapt out: + +"I don't want one.... I prefer to be independent...." + +The captain gave a jovial laugh. + +"Yes, yes ... of course ... but I have my responsibility to consider; +I have promised to do what I can for you to help you to get there, +and...." + +He called out sharply: + +"Monsieur de Lursac!" + +Pierre jumped. He took two steps forward quickly and then stopped dead. +A sentence which the unknown had spoken had arrested him in mid career. + +"No!" she cried, with irritation, "No ... I shall not thank you for +that!" + +"But heavens and earth!" swore the captain, "how can I leave a woman +to play the adventurer here all alone, without escort in a country +in which the men themselves daren't go about without all kinds of +precautions! That would be foolishness!..." + +"Foolishness or not, I have made up my mind. Do not let us speak of it +again." + +Pierre had turned away. The fog was now thinning; the sun, yellow and +rayless, appeared between two clouds. The river had broadened into a +great loop and the last scattered trees of the "drowned forest" could +be seen dotted about the immense waste of waters. Picking its way +between islands of mud, the _Vien-Thian_, coming out into the open, +pointed straight towards the bank of the Me-Kong, which appeared in +the distance as a vague brown line marked in the middle with a white +splash, the memorial erected to Commandant Diacre, who had been drowned +there some years before. With hoarse cries a flock of herons rose and +wheeled; while, in the rigid attitude of sleepers, three cormorants, +perched on a tree trunk, each with one claw drawn up under his gray +breast, snapped their beaks with loud clacking noises and watched the +boat suspiciously as it passed them. + + * * * * * + +Forcing himself to seem unaware of the conversation he had overheard, +Pierre pretended to be absorbed once more in the contemplation of the +bank which was rapidly growing plainer. Behind him, however, he was +conscious of the Unknown whose unexpected presence on board excited +his curiosity. With this feeling was mingled one of hurt pride. Who +was she? Who was this man of whom she had spoken in terms which were +certainly open to misconstruction? And what was he to her? Pierre would +have given anything to know. But the roughness of the young woman's +response when Captain Rabaud had offered her a traveling-companion had +hurt his feelings. + +He lit a cigarette and pulled his sketch-book out of his pocket. + + * * * * * + +Now over the bow of the boat appeared the river bank, every detail +clear and distinct. A long rank of palm trees stood on the edge of +the stream, revealing under their thin straight shadows a shed with a +thatched roof. A kind of primitive landing stage made of planks roughly +thrown together on some cross beams projected into the water of the +river. Beyond, over the tops of the palms, stretched toward the horizon +a brown land dotted with scanty bushes, while in the distance the +rapids of Hou-Sadan frothed and snarled. + +Pointing out the yellow thatched roof with his finger, the captain +announced: + +"Khône-Sud!" + +A confused noise rose from the waist of the ship filled with native +passengers. They had all risen to their feet, and pressed tight +against the bulwarks they disputed among themselves, exchanged remarks +and busied themselves over their meagre baggage. Tanned, brown and +powerful, the Cambodians folded up their square flat mattresses and +hoisted their bundles to their shoulders to be ready for landing. +Small and noisy, the Annamese pushed here and there, cursing aloud, +shoving their women, boxing the ears of the children who screamed with +ear-splitting yells. In a corner, collected together in a separate +group, the Chinese methodically and without hurry counted over their +bags of merchandise, lined up their boxes and got their papers ready. +Nonchalant and frail, the Lao-ese, with their pale faces, smiled and +hummed the chants of their native country, remaining stretched out on +the gunwales. + +Thinning into long slanting wisps, the fog cleared away. Almost as +suddenly as it had fallen, it was gone, and the sun shone in the sky, +warm, sparkling and golden. + +The _Vien-Thian_ came about, slackened her speed and cautiously laid +herself alongside the landing stage, which gave to her weight with +creakings and groanings. Across the gangway, which was immediately +lowered, the natives rushed, fighting among themselves for room to pass. + +Pierre made hurriedly for his cabin. Forcing a way through the crowd +on the lower deck, he reached his little stateroom and strapped up his +valise. Then two Cambodians took charge of his baggage, and having +carried it up to the deck piled it up at the head of the gangway. +Beside his own things, heavy and massive, each one of which carried +in large black letters his name and destination, Pierre observed some +copper-covered trunks and leather suitcases carefully shrouded in blue +cloth coverings. He guessed that they must belong to her whom he, with +some irritation, had named "The Unknown." Mechanically, he drew near to +the baggage. Bending over the aristocratic-looking things, he attempted +uselessly to discover the name of their proprietor. On the trunks and +the leather of the bags the same initials were repeated in slender +strokes: a W and an R, intertwined, in a lozenge-shaped monogram. + +He expressed his disappointment by an impatient gesture. Once again his +curiosity remained ungratified. He put out his hand and stopped the +porters who were beginning to take his trunks down, and told them to +wait for him. + +The crowd of yellow passengers was now thinning out: beyond the wall +and the primitive shed which, with three or four straw-thatched huts, +constituted the entire town of Khône-Sud, they could be seen trailing +off in groups, becoming smaller and disappearing. Only a few Lao-ese +still waited in the shade of the palms, where their variegated attire +broke the shade with little moving spots of color. Before the landing +stage some ox-carts were standing, while on the bank, up to their knees +in the river, six elephants, undisturbed, were squirting jets of water +over their backs. Upon their brown wrinkled flanks the water splashed +and ran down, while the mahouts, crouched on the enormous necks of the +brutes, mingled their guttural cries with the noise of the pouring +water. + +Pierre guessed that this extraordinary outfit, elephants and ox-carts, +was the caravan that had been got together for his journey to Post 32. +He smiled with amusement. At the same time a feeling of depression shot +through him. The monotony of this voyage up the unending river, through +scenery everlastingly the same, with only the continued tramping +backward and forward on the narrow deck for amusement or the reading +of a few volumes picked out of Captain Rabaud's library, had left him +with a feeling of lassitude and nervousness. He wanted to get on shore +to continue his journey, to get to the end of this pilgrimage where the +mysterious Post 32 and the strange land of which Bressond had spoken +were awaiting him. + +With a few bounds he reached the top of the ladder leading to the +bridge. Still standing in the corner which he used as a look-out, +Captain Rabaud was saying good bye to the unknown woman. Just as she +parted from him, after a final _au revoir_, Pierre came forward. Their +paths crossed. The young man raised his hat. She acknowledged the +salute with a slight nod and passed him quickly. + +Struck by the unusual and peculiar beauty of the face and eyes, +half-seen under the shadow of her large white felt hat, Pierre stopped. +Behind him the light decided footsteps of the young woman were growing +fainter. Already she must be descending the ladder to the lower deck. +Almost carried away by his sudden desire to look at her again and fix +her features in his memory, Pierre had hard work not to run back and +follow her. But there came to him the remembrance of that haughty and +reserved look which she had just flashed upon him as she passed, and he +stood motionless, not even daring to turn his head. + + + + + CHAPTER III + + A FELLOW TRAVELER + + +Somewhere in the night, a gong sounded the hour of the second watch. + +In the silence the ringing notes swelled out and vibrated. From other +spots nearby, fading away into the distance, the sound of three other +gongs rose into the still air, taking up the signal and prolonging it. + +The night was vast, motionless and cold. Leaning on the rail in front +of the hut which served him as a hotel, Pierre watched a wan moon rise +slowly above the river. In front of his hut, built on piles in the Moï +fashion, the footpath which represented the main street of Khône-Sud +stretched away to the north, cutting through the neighboring forest +whose solid mass stretched like a vast gulf of blackness under the +moonlit sky dappled with moving clouds. + +Towards the south, the handful of five or six huts which composed the +village lay silent and dark. On board the _Vien-Thian_, made fast to +the landing stage opposite, a single light kept watch. + +Pierre, unable to sleep, thought of his departure. He called to mind +the visit that he had made late in the afternoon to the civil service +clerk who occupied the position of Chief of the Post at Khône. His +caravan prepared in advance for him was waiting: it was that which he +had seen from the deck of the boat on his arrival some hours before: +four ox-carts with their bamboo-thatched tops and enormous wooden +wheels, and six elephants whose pack saddles were ready to receive +their loads: as escort a dozen Lao-ese riflemen and a guide. + +His baggage had been parcelled out as soon as it came off the boat. +The large packages--two great chests of clothes and three cases of +books and instruments solidly packed--were destined for the elephants. +One of the ox-carts was to serve him by turns as carriage by day and +sleeping apartment at night, and on its rough planking protected by +the rounded top they had stretched a Cambodian mattress. The smaller +parcels--suitcases, arms, munitions and provisions for the journey--had +been distributed between two more of the ox-carts. The fourth remained +empty, and Pierre had remarked concerning it to the clerk who +accompanied him: + +"No good taking this one, too. I'll leave you that ... it might...." + +But the other, laughing, had interrupted him. + +"No nonsense, old man!... They ordered me to provide you with four +vehicles. The requisitions have been made and the accounts passed; your +escort have been paid in advance. If you leave one of your carts on +my hands I shall have official letters and all sorts of troubles for +the next three months. They told me 'four carts.' You will then start +with four carts! As for the empty one, do what you like with it: make +a smoking room of it, a dining-room, library--but for the love of the +government, take it away from here." + +Remembrance of the incident made Lursac smile. + +Now, the moon was fully risen. It could be seen, reddish and dull, +floating between two strips of cloud. + +Across the sky a flight of birds passed in a triangular line, and the +breeze, blowing from nowhere, scattered the cloudlets banked in the +northern sky. Over the river a sheet of fog began to rise, climbing +the bank, overtopped it and then suddenly pouring down flooded the +countryside. Pierre shuddered, and re-entering his cabin pulled-to the +shutter which served as a door. + +Stretched out on his camp bed he still remained for a few minutes +unable to sleep. On the chest which served as a table the flame of the +lamp was on the point of dying. Out in the night a buffalo bellowed. +The hoarse cry, carried by the wind, floated through the cabin; and as +his lamp with a final flicker of light died out, Pierre fell asleep. + + * * * * * + +The vague impression that there was a light in the room woke him. +He opened his eyes and turned his head instinctively to the door. +Immediately he was on his feet. In the doorway, now wide open, outlined +against the milky sky illuminated by the moonlight, a shadow was +standing. + +Without giving him time to speak it made some steps towards him. The +shutter which it no longer held back slammed heavily and the room was +again in black darkness. At the same time a feminine voice spoke: + +"Do please light your lamp, Monsieur de Lursac." + +Pierre trembled: he recognized the sound of this voice, its precision, +its metallic timbre and even its slight foreign accent. He immediately +knew it was his "Unknown," she of the _Vien-Thian_. + +The lamp relighted, he saw her actually standing there, motionless, +in the middle of the cabin. She had put off the large felt hat that +she had been wearing on the boat. Now a fur toque imprisoned her pale +blonde hair, allowing only a few stray wisps of it to show on the +forehead and temples, and at the sides two little curls that shone +like gold. She was dressed in a gray tailored suit of which the coat +was clasped to her figure by a wide belt of red leather. Heavy brown +boots, very high cut, protected her legs: in her slim gray-gloved hands +she nervously twisted a riding-whip. Her cold glance, and even her +attitude, showed a curious desire to provoke him, a sort of cavalier +haughtiness at once brusque and determined. + +Pierre, saying nothing, watched her. With easy grace she flung the whip +on the bed, seated herself and said: + +"I imagine, sir, that you know who I am." + +The ambiguity of the phrase made Lursac hesitate. Was he to see in it +a deliberate rudeness or simply an allusion to their meeting on board +the boat? Although it struck him as lacking in tact, Pierre chose the +second hypothesis. Forcing himself to remain passive, he replied: + +"I think, as a matter of fact, I saw you on board the _Vien-Thian_." + +He bowed politely: "And what can I do for you?" + +He had set the lamp on the bench by her and, standing in front of the +young woman, he awaited her answer. + +With methodical quick movements she undid her gloves, took them off and +rolled them up. Her hands were visible, long and pale, without a jewel. +There was silence for a minute, then she said: + +"M. de Lursac, would you kindly allow me a few minutes' talk with you?" + +In spite of himself, Pierre smiled ironically. + +"The question seems to me...." + +She interrupted him brusquely. + +"I know, sir. My sudden intrusion into your room has hardly left you +any choice." + +And with her eyes suddenly grown hard, she added: + +"I beg you to believe that I have not acted with this lack of courtesy +without having the most important reasons." + +Pierre, in all sincerity, agreed: + +"I have no doubt of it." + +She let her cold glance fall on him. Her voice softened. + +"The exceptional situation in which I find myself must excuse anything +in my behavior which seems extraordinary. For the rest you must think +of me as you will: that doesn't matter." + +The young man bit his lips. Once more her words seemed to him to +possess a tinge of combined haughtiness and aggressiveness which +irritated him. But immediately she continued: + +"M. de Lursac, you start tomorrow morning at dawn, do you not?" + +Pierre assented: + +"Four o'clock in the morning exactly, for Post 32." + +"I know," said she, "I found out about it." + +Pierre's annoyance increased: sarcastically, he thanked her. + +"I am indeed overcome with the interest which you show in my movements." + +She seemed not to hear him, but an involuntary tightening of her lips +showed that his answer had not escaped her. And this slight motion had +in it something so sad that Pierre could not help regretting his having +given way to irony. + +"It is on the very subject of this journey that I have a request to +make to you," she continued. + +Then looking him full in the face she said slowly: + +"I wish to join Lieutenant Redeski at Post 32; you would lay me under a +great obligation if you would take me there with you." + +As he made a sudden gesture of refusal, she hastened to explain: + +"You are going to tell me that I ought to have addressed myself to the +chief of the government service at Khône. I have not failed to do so. +But he, not content with refusing me the aid on which I had counted, +told me that he would, on the contrary, put as many difficulties in my +way as possible. He had received formal instructions on this point: no +women are to go into the region which you are about to enter, or at +least no women with the consent of the government. You see, sir, that +I am putting the case before you with as much clearness and frankness +as possible; and nevertheless, having told you all that, I renew my +request: will you take me with you?" + +Pierre looked at her reflectively. With her figure leaning lightly +forward, her pale hands lying listless on the bench, and her glance +focussed in the far distance, she sat waiting for an answer. He made a +few steps back and forth, thinking, then he sat himself down next to +her. + +"No," he declared coldly. "No, I will not take you." + +She remained motionless, her glance still lost in the distance. Only a +slight wrinkling of her forehead betrayed her disappointment. A long +silence fell, filled only by the low rumble of the rapids of Hou-Sadan. + +Getting up, she said quietly: + +"I shall have to arrange in some way to go by myself." + +He too had risen: he looked at her. All her pride seemed gone; she +lowered her head. Instead of the expression she had worn up to that +moment, a different face--the true one, perhaps--appeared: a young and +tender face; and it seemed suddenly to Pierre that it was another woman +that stood before him. She looked up, and he could see tears in the +depths of her brown eyes. + +She shrugged her shoulders wearily. + +"Oh!" she said, "that would have made things so much easier. I should +have seen him again sooner.... This journey has been so long ... so +long and so horrible! And I have no one else in the world but him, no +one at all since we lost our mother." + +Astonished, Lursac ejaculated: + +"Your mother?" + +She gave a little half-smile. + +"Yea, I have only forgotten one thing; to introduce myself! I am Wanda +Redeski, and it is my brother who commands Post 32." + +"Ah!" said he. + +And without being able to explain why, he felt a strange happiness +spread throughout his being. + +In a low voice she continued: + +"Yes, he is my brother, and I have come all this way from the furthest +part of Poland to rejoin him and to say to him: Our mother is dead, and +I have no one left but you; let me live beside you!..." + +Suddenly raising her suppliant face to him, she renewed her request: + +"Take me! ... take me!..." + +Two tears glittered down her cheeks and she caught him by the arm. +Pierre for a moment looked down at the slim, beautiful hand whose long +thin pale fingers trembled on his wrist, and suddenly walking towards +the door, he said: + +"Come, then, since you wish it!" + + * * * * * + +The dawn was breaking. Along the horizon across the flooded river an +amber light began to spread, rising almost imperceptibly towards the +heavens where the stars were still twinkling. The rain had stopped. +On the threshold of the forest, among the trees whose branches were +still dripping with the damp of the night, the great black forms of +six elephants, laden with cases and trunks, showed. Half seen in the +growing light, heavy and formidable, they moved their trunks aloft, +plucking young twigs from the trees on either side of them. Behind them +the four ox-carts, each furnished with its span of draft oxen, showed +the brown of their thatched tops in line. + +Pierre threw a final look over his caravan. Crouched on the poles of +their wagons the drivers, whip in hand, awaited his orders, while in +their places on the necks of the elephants, the mahouts, waiting, spoke +endearments to their beasts. In front, the guide, his machete in hand, +was listening attentively to the sounds of the forest. + +Coming up to the last but one of the ox-carts, Lursac drew aside the +canvas that closed the rounded ends of the top and asked: + +"Are you absolutely decided?" + +The voice of Wanda Redeski came to him concise and clear, with a +strange sweetness in it, as she said: + +"Absolutely, M. de Lursac." + +Pierre, turning to the escort, raised his hand. + +"_Paï, vaï, vaï!_"[4] he cried. + +[Footnote 4: Start forward, quickly.] + +And going to the head of the procession, he swiftly entered the bluish +penumbra of the heavy Lao-ese forest, while gradually the shadows of +the night faded from the sky. + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + POST 32 + + +The man gave a couple of heavy strokes with his paddle. His canoe +turned, met the current at an angle and slid towards the bank of the +canal, head-on. Mud squirted up and the canes on the bank crashed +backwards; and the light skiff lay motionless in its bed. Jumping up on +to the limb of a mangrove, the savage tied his canoe; then, picking up +his bow and quiver, he slid from branch to branch on to dry land. + +Standing at the edge of the level ground, he looked about him. To his +right the double palisade of the military post could be seen, topped by +the roofs of its newly finished buildings. He turned in that direction. +At the postern gate he knocked loudly, and then, sitting down with his +back to the heavy door, he waited patiently, his chin on his knees. + +The Moï who ran up at the noise opened the door cautiously, then asked +angrily: + +"Was it you who knocked? What do you want?" + +"It was I," said the man calmly. "I want to speak to the chief." + +The other looked at him carefully, up and down. + +"The lieutenant is away ... it is the priest who, while awaiting his +return...." + +"Go then: it is Father Ravennes that I will see...." + +The convert grumbled: + +"Come in. I will go and tell him." + +And already he was hurrying off when the other called to him: + +"Tell him what? You fool!" + +And as the Moï, abashed, stared at him, he ordered: + +"You will say to him that I have arrived from the west and that I bring +news...." + +And disdainfully shrugging his shoulders, he began to roll a cigarette. + +"Hurry, now!" he added. + +Suppressing his anger, the convert went off. He found the missionary in +front of the look-out post. Standing in the gateway, Father Ravennes +was directing the final efforts of those who were putting the finishing +touches to the building. Around the various erections, of which the +freshly plastered walls shone white in the sunshine, a few _linhs_ and +some twenty women were busied. + +The arrival of the convert drew his attention. + +"What is it? A courier from Khône-Sud?" said he. "Bring him here." + +The man appeared at the entrance of the court, and while he was +salaaming before him the missionary looked him over. It was one of +the wild Stiengs, small-built but strong. His body was bare except +for a brown cloth about his loins; his face, of pronounced features, +emphasized by the square, projecting chin, was almost brutal, but +lighted by gray metallic-looking eyes. He spoke in a loud voice, +slightly hoarse and rather guttural, in sonorous syllables which now +and then fell into a rhythmic chant. He made no gestures; merely from +time to time lifting his heavy crossbow of shining redwood from one +broad shoulder to the other. + +"Lieutenant Darty of Post 30 sends you greeting. He wishes to inform +you that the Sedangs of his region have deserted the village. Things +are happening around him which he does not understand and which make +him feel anxious. If you go towards the west, do not fail to go and see +him. He would like to speak to you about these things. Meanwhile he +warns you to be on your guard." + +The missionary smiled carelessly. + +"Ah!" said he, "for the three years that I have been here I have done +nothing else! Never mind, the advice is always good. On your way back +to Khône-Sud you will give my thanks to Lieutenant Darty. You will also +tell him that I will come to see him and as soon as I can. Is that all?" + +"No. There is a new chief at Post 28. The former one has gone back to +Saigon on a vacation. In the low country through which I have come the +flood has carried away two villages...." + +"And the mail carrier? The letters, the papers?" + +"Nothing left! The sampan that carried the mail was wrecked near Post +28, the mail sacks were lost." + +"Very good," said Father Ravennes, "you can go and rest yourself." + +The man remained motionless. + +"I have still this to tell you," said he, "Inspector Keratel, of +Khône-Sud, greets you. He has ordered me to tell you that the +administrator who was to join the lieutenant here has started on his +way and will be here soon." + +Father Ravennes lit his pipe. + +"How soon? They announced his arrival for the end of the month, and +this is the 6th.... When will he be here, according to you?" + +The man considered for a minute and looked at the sky. + +"Before the sun has set," said he. "We left Khône-Sud together one +moon[5] and four nights ago, but after three days of the journey I +left him to take a short cut, and came up the canal in my canoe. +Unfortunately, the flood had made the rapids impassable. I nearly got +drowned in making an attempt to cross at Ong-Sep and I had to wait +until the water went down. That kept me back for at least two days. The +others cannot be far behind me." + +[Footnote 5: "Moon" is used by the Indo-Chinese natives to signify a +single phase of the moon, not a month, which would be four "moons."] + +He fell silent, yawned and stretched himself. Down his slender chest +and along his thighs the muscles rippled and stood out. + +Father Ravennes dropped a hand on his shoulder. + +"When do you go back?" he asked. + +"In about two hours or so. I shall only stay long enough to repair the +hole in my canoe." + +"Good! I will give you some letters to take back before you go. Is +there anything you need?" + +Shaking his head proudly, the man pointed to the bow which he held in +his hand and the quiver full of arrows hanging at his side. + +"No," said he, "with that I have everything I need." + +He saluted and made ready to go, but the missionary still held him back. + +"Do you know the name of the administrator who is coming here?" + +"The _cai_ who was in command of the escort told me his name; it is the +Sahib Lursac." + +The missionary considered. + +"Lursac? I do not know that name." + +He turned towards the courier. + +"Very good," said he, "you can go now." + +But the man had already started. He crossed the court. The blazing sun +made his naked body shine, and caught with a sparkle of light the steel +point of the crossbow laid across his shoulder. + +Father Ravennes watched him pass through the postern and disappear. He +repeated thoughtfully to himself: + +"Lursac? Lursac? A new arrival probably. A strange idea to pick him out +to send here!"... + +He remained thoughtful a minute, and then murmured: + +"But that's what they always do at Saigon!..." + +Shrugging his shoulders, he strode off towards the office. + + * * * * * + +"There is the Post," said Pierre. + +And he stood motionless while the convoy, debouching from the forest, +reached the edge of the valley. Standing beside the young man, Wanda +looked around the scene with curiosity. + +On her right the river flowed between its low banks edged with canes +and mangroves. On the brink of the water the station stood, defended +by its double horseshoe-shaped palisade only broken by a heavy gateway +with a double door. Wrapping it round on all sides and separated from +the fortifications only by a narrow clearing, the great Lao-ese forest +stood about it in a dark and rustling circle which extended even to the +very banks of the canal. Facing the fort towards the north rose hilly +slopes, and behind them, blocking out the sky, the chaotic mass of the +great Moï range stretched its sombre crests and its threatening bulk, +striped with alternate zones of shadow and sunlight. On the other side, +all the back country across the river was nothing but a great plain of +monotonous red soil which stretched towards the south as far as one +could see. + +"Look," said Pierre, "they must have seen us!" + +Up the mast standing by the entry gate a flag was crawling, and as the +great double doors opened a trumpet call resounded. + +Pierre turned to the girl. + +"Come," said he. + +They walked forward. Behind them the elephants and then the ox-carts +lumbered in their turn, escorted by the native riflemen. + +The trumpet ceased. The shadow of night crept upward into the day. A +flight of wild geese crossed the gathering dusk and their cries floated +over the plain. + +Standing before the doorway, Father Ravennes awaited them. When Pierre +de Lursac had come within a few paces of him he came quickly to meet +them. His look fell on Wanda and his forehead wrinkled. Suppressing his +surprise, he introduced himself: + +"Father Ravennes, of the Apostolic Mission to the Banhars." + +"Administrator Pierre de Lursac." + +The missionary looked the young man over with a swift glance. His face +relaxed and he stretched out his hand. + +"I am glad to welcome you to Post 32, in the absence of Lieutenant +Redeski," said he. + +"Ah!" said Wanda, "Michael is not here?... Nothing has happened to him, +has it?" + +The priest turned towards her. Pierre caught the questioning glance +which he threw first on the young girl and then on him. He blushed. + +"Mademoiselle Redeski," said he, "sister of the lieutenant." + +And at the same time he in his turn looked the priest over. + +He saw a man of some 45 years of age, clothed, Annamese style, in a +black tunic and white trousers. Above his long bony body and planted +on broad shoulders his small head with its thin face and pronounced +features gave a singular impression of sweetness and energy combined. +The forehead, high and smooth, and the chin prominent, with a short +grayish beard, gave to his face an expression of strength of will, +almost of severity; but his eyes, large and pale, lit with dreams +and such as the apostles of the early ages of the Faith must have +had, illuminated the ascetic face, at once virile and tender, with +intelligence and kindness. The missionary bowed. + +"Do not be disturbed, Mademoiselle, your brother started three days ago +on a tour of inspection round the district. We did not expect M. de +Lursac for another three weeks, and Redeski expected to be back here +before that. I believe further that he did not know ... at least he +never told me...." + +The young girl laughed aloud. + +"No, he doesn't even know of my arrival in Indo-China. That will be a +surprise for him." + +They had meanwhile been walking on and had entered the courtyard of +the fort. Behind them the convoy had crossed the fortifications and +the gate had been closed. The priest climbed the wooden outside stair +leading to the officers' quarters. Crossing the veranda which ran round +the whole façade of the building, he conducted the young people through +the rooms. + +"A domiciliary visit," said he, laughingly. "It will not be a very long +one. Five rooms: an office, a dining room, three bedrooms. Because of +the damp ground, everything is built upon piles." + +"Oh!" said Wanda, "how strange!" + +She had lifted a large screen of plaited bamboo, and the river and the +plain lay before her. The yellow waters of the canal flowed at the very +base of the building and gurgled against the pillars that supported it. +Above the land floated a fine dust which the setting sun gilded and +turned to clouds of rosy jade. A sky of shining mauve stretched away to +the vague horizon, which was cut in two by a dark patch. + +The missionary pointed out this last to the young people. "That is the +clump of trees which surrounds my Mission," said he. "I am your nearest +neighbor, ten miles away. The other posts, 30 and 28, are, the one, ten +days' journey to the east, and the other, eight days to the west...." + +He had let the screen fall into its place again and continued his +explanations. + +"The arrangement of the rooms is very simple. They are all in a row and +have communicating doors. To the south they look over the plain; on the +north, that is to say the side of the veranda, they open towards the +mountains. As for the furnishing, it is very primitive--as you see: +beds, a few tables, a dozen chairs, and chests everywhere. On the other +hand you have four oil lamps and two candle lamps; a luxury which you +will soon come to appreciate at its right value." + +They went out on the veranda again. + +In the middle of the court the riflemen were finishing the unloading of +the ox-carts. The elephants, already free of their burdens, were tied +in their sheds beside the oxen. + +The missionary pointed out the subsidiary buildings, one by one. + +"On the right, against the palisade, the barracks for the men, the +store-rooms, the cook-houses, the cabins for the servants and the +drivers; on the left, facing them, the sheds for the draft animals and +the stables; this little thatched hut raised above the ground by the +entry-gate houses the guard who keeps watch every night from the first +night-watch to the first morning-watch. And that's all." + +He drew himself up; his expression became grave, and while with a wave +of his arm he included the whole countryside, he said: + +"Your whole life from now on will be passed within this double +stockade. Redeski, when he gets back, will explain to you all the +details of the service. But for the present, I shall be bold enough to +give you some advice: Do not go too far from the fort in the course of +your walks or rides, at least at first...." + +Wanda, turning towards him, demanded: + +"Why?" + +"Because you are here in the middle of an unsubdued region and on the +very threshold of the Moï country into which no European has yet been +able to penetrate." + +The young girl looked at him. Her voice took on a troubled note. + +"But what about Michael?..." + +The priest realized her anxiety and the question which she hardly dared +to ask. + +"Oh," said he, "Redeski has taken his precautions. He is accompanied by +eight armed native soldiers, and, besides, he is not travelling in the +direction of the Pou-Kas...." + +The sky darkened rapidly, the distant flank of the mountains behind +which the sun had disappeared had deepened to a blackish blue. The +shadows stretching down from their crests reached almost to the Post, +and already the plain lay blotted out. Above the river the hoarse +night-cry of a water fowl grated through the silence. The last packages +of the convoy had been carried into the store sheds, and around the +empty court a few fowls were straying and pecking in the dust. + +"It is time for me to go," said Father Ravennes, "I will come back in +two or three days to see if I can be of any service to you. In any case +if you need me you know where the Mission is. You only have to cross +the canal and go straight forward towards that clump of trees in the +middle of which it is hidden. It is only a matter of three-quarters of +an hour or so on horseback, and everything there is yours as much as +mine.... _Au revoir!_" + +"Thank you," said Pierre, "we will come very soon." + +The priest descended the narrow stairway. His form grew vague and +smaller and then mingled with the shadows with which the court was +flooded. + +Leaning over the rail of the balcony, Wanda called after him in her +turn: + +"We will come as soon as we have got our things put straight. _Au +revoir!_" + +His voice, already distant, floated up to them. + +"_Au revoir!_" + +Leaning on their elbows side by side, Wanda and Pierre listened a +minute longer to the footsteps of the priest as they became fainter and +fainter and at last died away in the night. Then, turning and looking +at each other, they smiled softly.... + + + + + CHAPTER V + + AT THE MISSION + + +Father Ravennes crossed the courtyard of his Mission with great +strides. In front of the chapel he stopped. It was a rectangular +building with a mud roof surmounted by a simple black cross; from each +side of the building, like windows, three bays stood out covered with +great screens of woven rattan. A single door gave access to it, massive +and reënforced by crossbeams roughly squared, closed by two staples +through which passed the hasp of a heavy padlock. + +Before the chapel, suspended to a wooden bracket, a gong hung with its +wooden striker. Seizing the hammer the priest with swift violent blows +made the bronze resound. The sonorous vibrations swelled out through +the air and filled the whole court, penetrating to the interior of the +narrow huts perched on their bases of piles against the stockade of +pointed bamboo. + +Disturbed in their morning hour of quiet a dozen or so of blackbirds +flew out and scattered with sharp cries. The fowls that were pecking +about ran off in fright, flapping their wings. From the house of the +priest next the chapel a native dog, lean and surly, charged out and +began running round and round in front of the gong, barking madly. + +"Quiet, Jang!" cried the priest. + +He had restored the striker to the bracket, and was watching his flock +who, hurriedly emerging from their huts, had come to group themselves +in front of him. + +There were some thirty, all told; a miserable crowd composed +principally of women and children. And according to the order of their +arrival, after a respectful salaam, they sat back on their heels +holding their children by the hand. Behind them, standing up, a few men +showed their hollowed faces turned towards the priest, and their naked +bodies in which the bones seemed almost ready to come through the brown +and dirty skin. + +Father Ravennes looked at them steadily. But they turned away their +eyes, submitting to his inspection with an appearance of annoyance and +constraint which he noted. + +When he saw them all ranged before him, he stretched his hand toward +the mountain of which the blue slopes showed faintly far away towards +the north. + +"What did you go to do over there last night?" he demanded. + +There was a deep silence. Motionless, their faces as expressionless as +masks, the men hung their heads. + +Father Ravennes leaned forward. + +"Why did you go there?" he questioned again. + +He seemed this time to address himself to the women and his voice +became imperious. But they remained silent, simply clasping their +children tighter to them. + +The missionary, drawing back, made a few steps to the rear. + +"Very well," he said roughly, "since you have nothing to say...." + +A voice interrupted him: + +"We went for a walk in the forest, Father, it was a hot night...." + +The priest advanced towards the one who had just spoken and stared him +out of countenance. + +"It was a hot night ..." he repeated. + +The other, small and puny, with an air of insincerity, turned his eyes +away. + +"Yes, very hot and we couldn't sleep, and...." + +Father Ravennes drew himself up to his full height. He loomed large, +bony and strong, dominating them all with his powerful carriage. He +caught the man by the arm and forced him to turn his face to him. + +"Why are you lying?" he demanded. + +The other stammered: + +"But I am not lying, Father, I...." + +The missionary passionately cut him short: + +"Be silent. I tell you that you are lying. You are all lying." + +Two of his flock at his side made a gesture of protest which he saw. + +"Yes, true," said he, "I am unjust: you were not in it, you two, and I +am very glad.... But these others?..." + +He flung away violently the man he had been holding. + +"Away with you!" said he. + +Then turning towards the still silent group of his converts he flung at +them: + +"What you refuse to tell me I am going to tell you. You went to the +_Bo-Jaou_.[6] How many times have I told you and told you, that a +Christian cannot believe in sorcery. When I think that you have been +here for more than a year, and that in spite of all, all that I have +told you, you continue to take part in the mummeries of this ... it's +enough to drive me mad! A saint himself would lose patience with you, +and I am not a saint." + +[Footnote 6: Sorceress; _Bia-bo-Jaou_: Queen of the sorceresses, the +high priestess.] + +A clear voice interrupted him: + +"Oh! Father Ravennes, I am afraid that we have arrived at the wrong +time. We have come to ask you for lunch. Can we come in?" + +The missionary swiftly turned his head. On the other side of the +palisade behind the entrance gate he saw Wanda and Pierre. + +"Certainly," said he, "come in, and welcome! It is true that I am +sinning terribly at this moment, but God will not call me to account +for it; it is for the good of the Faith! Just look at them!" + +With a circular gesture he pointed out the group of converts. The +sleeve of his tunic swept the air around him. On his great chest the +silver cross suspended by its rosary jumped. He repeated passionately: + +"Look at them! They came to me pitiful, wretched and suffering: I took +them in. For more than a year every day I have preached the Gospel to +them, and all of them--men and women--have begged me to teach them the +truths of our holy religion. One by one, I have cared for them, cured +them, and little by little came to love them as my children, and then I +baptized them. Look at that one, Ngui...." + +With his forefinger he pointed at one of the men. + +"Scarcely a fortnight ago, when the time came for him to receive +baptism, and I put to him the questions set down in the ritual: '_Do +you believe in God? Do you renounce Satan?_' instead of answering me +as I had taught him: '_I renounce him_,' this fellow, forgetting his +instructions in an enthusiasm which filled my priest's heart with +joy, cried out, '_Yes, yes, I renounce him with all my heart and for +ever!_' And yet in spite of that, last night it was he who was at their +head and guided them when they were on their way to take part in the +ceremonies of Bo-Jaou!" + +He walked towards the frightened group, and catching at random a woman +with a child hanging on to the edge of her tunic, he shook her roughly: + +"For I followed you, do you hear? And when you ran away, seeing a +shadow which you did not wait to recognise, I saw you, and I know +enough of it all to be able to describe to you all your underhand +doings. Indeed I will describe them to you." + +Letting go of the woman he thumped the shoulder of a man who stood near +him. + +"It was you," he said, "who opened the gate for them. It was eleven +o'clock, and while they slid out you stayed on watch to see if I +noticed anything. You were quite satisfied, weren't you? At that time +I am always asleep. But the good God arranged it so that on that very +afternoon I overheard one of you saying, 'The sign is cut upon the +sacred banyan tree. It will be tonight!' I became suspicious. Aroused +to full watchfulness I watched you from behind my blinds, and when you +had gone out, with Ngui at the head and you at the end of the line, I +set out on your track. + +"You ran across the plain. The night was dark, only lighted up a little +here and there by a ray of moonlight from between the clouds. You went +towards the mountain. I saw you take the canoes on the bank of the +river and cross it, go round the fort and disappear in the forest. +As you had taken away all the canoes, I followed you by swimming. +That took time. When I reached the other side of the river you had +disappeared. Before me rose the first outpost of the Pou-Kas. I was +unarmed! But nevertheless, after a short prayer, I set out towards a +vague light which appeared and disappeared in the distance between the +trees. After a walk of half an hour, on reaching a clearing I saw you, +you, Nmur, you, Dok, all of you ... all of you, ranged around the jar +of the libations and watching Jieng who was dancing before a brazier +and howling while she gashed her face, her arms and her breast with +sword-cuts!" + +Pierre de Lursac came forward excitedly. + +"Jieng, the famous sorceress of whom you spoke to us. Have you seen +her?..." + +Father Ravennes, turning round to him, broke into his speech. + +"Chut!" said he. "Let me finish with these people." + +And with a sudden turn he faced the converts and continued: + +"Yes, you were all there and when you saw a shadow--mine--in front of +you, you all ran away, Jieng at your head, scattering among the shadows +of the forest. But by the abandoned fire I found this, which I brought +back with me." + +As he spoke, going to one of the windows of the chapel, he raised the +screen and picked up a Moï sword. The thick blade, short and tapering +to a point, shone spotted here and there with reddish stains. He held +it a moment above his head high in the air, then flinging it with all +his force into the middle of the court he cried: + +"There is the sword which was used in the ceremonies. Now, will you +still deny it?" + +And he stood silent, trembling with emotion, drawn to his full height +and facing the group of his converts who turned towards him faces full +of woe and distress. + +Standing at his side even Wanda and Pierre shuddered. The same emotion +moved them both. They looked wonderingly at this man who lived there, +lost in the depths of the Lao-ese forest, sustained only by his ideal +of a priest's duty, and they gave him the tribute of their admiration, +thinking of all that he had abandoned, of all that he had not hesitated +to leave behind him--fatherland, parents, friends--to try and gain for +his faith a few strays of this primitive and uncivilized race. + +But already gaining control of himself the priest turned again to his +converts. + +"And now," said he in a deep voice, "listen to me: I came here from +Pho-Rang,[7] my country, to live among you. You were slaves and I have +made you free men and women. Your souls were wandering in the darkness, +and I have tried to save those ignorant souls, purchased by the blood +of Jesus Christ; but you have remained blind; you have not wanted to +believe; you have had for me double hearts and double minds. To my love +you have answered only with hypocrisy, lies and daily deceits...." + +[Footnote 7: France.] + +He made a gesture which seemed to sweep them all away from him. + +"I am tired," said he, "of struggling for you against yourselves... +Go away from here. Return to your villages. I send you off.... Go.... +Go...." + +A silence of surprised horror weighed upon them. Then a woman's cry +rang out, taken up and echoed by the voices of the others: + +"Father, O Father! ... keep us here!..." + +The women had risen to their feet; they ran up, trying to fling +themselves at the feet of the priest. + +"Not that.... O Father.... Not that. We can't go back to the mountain! +Spare us!" + +Fear shook them all, an incomprehensible and unexpected fear. + +In his turn a man broke out into supplication: + +"Pardon us, Father.... It is true ... we did go there, but we didn't +know, we didn't think that that would make you angry ... forgive us!" + +The missionary gazed at them thoughtfully. Kneeling at his feet, their +hands stretched out toward him, a mask of very terror distorting their +features, they groaned and trembled; and although this sudden terror +seemed to him as yet another mystery, the priest felt a great pity +sweep over him. His glance strayed about him. + +From a pale metallic sky the sun was beating fiercely down. It filled +the entire court, like a huge cup, with dazzling heat and light: +above it the air throbbed and palpitated. The blackbirds, who had +been frightened for a minute, had now returned to their familiar +roosting-places and were hopping about among the bamboo stakes of the +palisade, squawking and whistling, intoxicated with the glare. + +In the centre of the court the great black cross which dominated the +chapel threw its shadow, and its wide-spread arms traced on the yellow +soil the Christian symbol of pardon and redemption. + +Father Ravennes raised his hand. + +"Very well," said he slowly, "but this is the second time that I have +pardoned you, and by the holy Cross, whose servant I am, I swear to you +that if I catch you a third time I shall be inexorable." + +A voice promised: + +"We will obey...." + +And a confusion of cries immediately arose: + +"We will never go to the forest any more! We swear it, Father! We all +swear it! Believe us! Oh, believe us!" + +The missionary nodded. His strong face, drawn with fatigue, grew soft. + +"It is well," said he, "go now and resume your regular life." + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + AN ENTHUSIAST DISCOURSES ON PRE-HISTORIC REMAINS + + +"Then really," said Wanda, "you are not worried?" + +The priest turned his glance upon her. He observed her anxiety. +Although she forced herself to hide it, her pale face was shadowed and +her eyelids fluttered lightly. He tried to reassure her. + +"No," said he, "certainly I would prefer to know that Redeski had +reached Post 28. He ought to have got there last week, but when +you come to think of it, what of it? He is only six days late on +his schedule, and in the forest that's nothing--especially at this +season...." + +Pierre nodded agreement. + +The three of them were finishing their lunch on the balcony of the +priest's house. Once more clouds had invaded the sky, and across the +courtyard of the Mission their shadows lay and sped swiftly between two +shafts of sunlight. + +The young girl lifted her relaxed face to the priest with a brave +attempt at smiling. + +"I suppose I am absurd, but Michael means so much in my life.... I have +no one but him...." + +"I understand," said the missionary with tenderness, "but do not +torture yourself unnecessarily. He will be here in a fortnight at most, +telling us why he was late.... Besides...." + +He broke off, for the serving boy who had placed a basket of fruit on +the table asked: + +"Will the Father take his coffee here?" + +Father Ravennes consulted his guests with a look. + +"No," said he, "we will take it in 'the Cave!'" + +Wanda, who was picking out a fruit, made a sudden movement. The purple +and yellow pyramid of mangoes and lichis rolled scattered about the +table. Absent-mindedly she queried: + +"The Cave?" + +The boy had silently disappeared. + +"The room reserved for my prehistoric collection," explained the +priest, stretching out his legs, and with a laugh he continued: + +"It is true ... though of course you could not know it! I am absorbed +in everything prehistoric, and I realize that this prepossession has +become a regular passion with me!" + +And with a sort of ingenuous doubt he enquired: "You don't see anything +sinful in that, do you?" + +Lursac smiled. + +"No," said he, "and I absolve you in advance! Although this scientific +pre-occupation seems to me neither very Christian nor warranted by the +doctrines of the Church, and that...." + +The missionary protested strongly: + +"You are wrong," said he, "there is nothing to prevent priests from +making a study of this sort.... I was already taken up with it while I +was at the Seminary of Foreign Missions at Paris, and my masters never +told me...." + +"However," said Wanda in her turn, "doesn't the Old Testament tell us +that man was created by God not more than six thousand years ago?" + +Pierre remarked: + +"Well, well, Mademoiselle, I would not have believed you so versed in +theological matters." + +Then turning towards the missionary: + +"Well, what have you to say to that?" + +Father Ravennes shrugged his shoulders. + +"Simply this," said he, "that Mademoiselle is making a very common +mistake. You can open the Sacred Book and you will find in Genesis no +precise date at which primitive man must have been born. It is the +chronologists who, since the fifteenth century, have endeavored to +force biblical facts into their system of chronology. The best proof of +that is that the Church has never consented to making it an article of +faith that the creation of man took place six thousand years ago." + +Lursac, who had just finished peeling a mango, went on teasing him: + +"But I don't think, however, that many priests occupy themselves with +such problems as this." + +The missionary disputed the statement: + +"Yes indeed!... Abbés Bourgeois and Delaunay, Monseigneur Meignan +himself--just to quote those who are in some sort my predecessors--have +all written important works on this very question. Of the present day I +can cite you Abbés Breuil and Bremond...." + +He got up, and walking in front of them he guided them towards "the +Cave." It was a long room, of which the entire furnishings consisted of +a narrow bench which ran round the walls and was divided by partitions, +and a long table on trestles littered with stones, arms and other +strange and primitive instruments. A large bay with the usual screen +of plaited bamboo lighted the room, cutting a great rectangle in the +mud wall through which the sun poured in. On the other walls, from the +bench up to the ceiling, hung all sorts of prehistoric remains, forming +an extraordinary mixture. Crowded against each other, each one provided +with its label or its inscription, they enriched the gray background +with outlandish patterns. Rough, heavy knives, axes and scrapers of +flint hung close together beside bone daggers and bodkins worn smooth +by the lapse of centuries. Further along, gruesome fragments of human +skeletons colored like old ivory were mixed with pieces of animal bones +on a large panel, flanked by rags of clothing and strips of hide. In an +angle near the bay two yellow and angular skulls lay on a shelf. Their +empty jaws with the mouths hanging open and their hollow eye-sockets +formed great holes filled with shadows. + +The room thus decorated gave the strange and complex effect of a museum +of bric-a-brac and a tomb combined. + +Wanda and Pierre had sat themselves down on the bench. + +Standing before the table Father Revennes gazed affectionately at his +collection. + +"My harvest, gathered in the three years that I have been here," he +said with naïve pride. + +Lursac showed his surprise. + +"Three years? I didn't know that Laos was so rich in prehistoric +remains!" + +The missionary had taken one of the skulls between his sunburnt hands +and while he spoke he handled it gently with motions that were almost +caressing. He did not seem to have heard Lursac's remark. With his eyes +full of admiration he repeated: + +"My most beautiful specimen.... A quarternary human skull! A real +wonder, for it is unique.... Do you realize it?... Unique! And I defy +anyone in Europe to show me one as truly characteristic and in such +perfect condition. Their 'Cro-Magnon'? Pooh! Trash compared to this +one...." + +He gave a smile of triumph at once naïve and solemn. + +"And when I think," said he with enthusiasm, "that in this bony cup, +over forty thousand years ago, there used to be a brain that created +thoughts, desires, and feelings, which were doubtless exactly the same +as our thoughts, desires and feelings...." + +He stopped, regarding with a sort of affection the skull which he had +put on the table before him. Then touching his own forehead with his +fingers he murmured: + +"The same forehead, and--who knows--perhaps the same soul, which time +has simply kept apart from this one without separating them." + +The voice of Wanda broke in. + +"O Father! can we have the same soul as a superior ape?" + +Father Ravennes jumped round. + +"Primitive man, an ape!" said he, "where have you read that heresy? In +Lamarck, in Carl Vogt, or in Huxley? But it is an outrageous theory, +long ago given up." + +He went on, his voice trembling with excitement: + +"It is enough to have eyes and to look at them; a child couldn't be +deceived. How could such a gross error have originated? Everything +proves that the human type is independent of the animal.... Look!" he +said, as he took from the shelf the second skull and placed it on the +table beside the first, and emphasising his words with his finger, he +continued: + +"They pretend to base their opinion on anatomical comparison. The +ignoramuses! Look! Here is a man's skull from the earliest of primitive +ages, and here is a baboon's, the simian species which is nearest to +the human type. See here and here: the chin, the teeth, the general +appearance, the structural lines of these two skulls proclaim their +distinct origin and prove that the ape belongs to a totally different +species from man." + +Relieved by his own violence he shrugged his shoulders with scorn. +Lursac and Wanda had risen and were standing one on each side of the +missionary. In silence they regarded the hollow bony forms standing on +the table before them, which, dull and dirty, grinned back at them with +toothless mouths and missing noses and their whole surfaces spotted as +with leprosy. + +"What does it matter?" said Wanda. "What surprises me as it does Lursac +is this extraordinary abundance of fossils in the neighborhood." + +Father Ravennes turned to them. + +"You are right; and my astonishment was even greater than yours. I +didn't expect such rich discoveries! Just remember that usually it +needs ten, a dozen, perhaps fifteen years of exploration and of digging +to discover and bring to light a few anthropological specimens, less +rare and, above all, in a much worse state of preservation than most +of these you see here. But what is really extraordinary about it is +the way in which I found them. It would be natural enough to find here +in the depths of the Lao-ese forest some remains of quaternary man. +General opinion agrees, as a matter of fact, that our first ancestors +were born and lived in central and southern Asia before spreading +themselves over different parts of the globe.... Yes, here! somewhere +around us, must have been the cradle of the human race...." + +"You said," interrupted Pierre, "that you found these things in some +extraordinary way.... How was that?" + +The missionary smiled mysteriously. + +"Listen," said he. "When I first arrived here I built myself a hut, +and every morning, after I had said mass, I started out on horseback. +I just followed my nose, attempting to spread the Word of God. One day +I lost myself in the forest on the border of the Moï country, opposite +your fort." + +Lursac cried: + +"Ah! in the Dead Zone?..." + +"Yes," said the missionary. "Yes, that is where I have made all +my finds; and on each occasion the axes, the tools, the arms, the +skeletons or the clothes were in a heap, piled round a black stone +curiously shaped, erected like a fetich before a _nihuer_.[8] Therefore +it is absolutely certain that it was the natives who must have brought +them there. But where did they find them and why do they attach to +them this sacred character which seems to be denoted by their presence +before the altar of incantations?" + +[Footnote 8: Altar for performing incantations.] + +Lursac thoughtfully listened to him. With his thoughts dwelling on +these savage hosts in the midst of which the fort and the Mission stood +up like two lost islands he called to mind the counsels of prudence +which the missionary had given them the evening of their arrival. And +suddenly there flashed across him the mysterious fate of Longères and +Dorcel. With some abruptness he asked: + +"Don't you think that this may be one of the elements of this unknown +religion whose presence we feel all about us?" + +Father Ravennes lighted his pipe. Through the open window, beyond the +bamboos and the trees which surrounded the Mission, the russet-colored +plain was visible, with the widening line of the canal marked by its +border of mangroves, and further away the bulk of the Pou-Kas, holding +up against the luminous sky the dark wildness of its vast flanks. + +The missionary, after a long silence, looked at the young man. + +"It is a question," said he, "about which I have often thought. It +seems probable, as a matter of fact, that these prehistoric remains do +serve some function in the mysterious religion which holds in its grip +this entire region from the mountain to the plain! Perhaps, indeed, it +is even the very essence of it." + +"Perhaps?" enquired Wanda. "Have you never then tried to find out? That +surprises me! It seems that I...." + +"Find out! ..." said the missionary with a gesture of weariness, "find +out! Everything that surrounds us here, as I have already told you, is +vague and incomprehensible. We are struggling in a mass of tricks, of +lies and hypocrisies from a race that hates us and of which we know +practically nothing. Find out! I have tried, certainly!... I began by +questioning those who came to me. But directly one touches the subject +one finds oneself at a stone wall. Then if one goes on to speak of this +sorceress, this Jieng, whose power, although it is hidden, is none the +less actual and far-reaching, they tremble and become terrified. Then +if one presses them yet further, they say it is a legend and that there +is no such person as Jieng and never was." + +He turned towards the young people. + +"However," said he, "you know that I came on them last night with her +in the forest. But she holds them by some sort of magical charm and +religious fear.... Never having been able to get anything out of my +converts, I made up my mind to look for myself. I paid them back trick +for trick, patience for patience. I became desperate, driven by a +curiosity which has gradually turned into a strange mixture of fear and +obsession...." + +He broke off to replace the two skulls on the shelf. + +"And this is what I finally discovered," he went on. "It's little +enough and it's so vague in meaning that I have almost hesitated +to speak to you about it. It was about three years ago--I had just +arrived, and Post 32 had just been destroyed for the second time--I +was returning from a circuit that I had made towards the mountain and +night had overtaken me on my journey--a summer night, warm, milky and +starlit. I was riding slowly, letting my horse take his own time. When +I got to the bank of the canal I stopped, looking for the ford by which +to cross it. Before me, stretching to the horizon, the plain lay lit +by the moon with that light at once intense and subdued which one sees +only in the night of the far east. Suddenly my attention was drawn to +something unusual: across the sandy hills streamed processions of black +spots, tiny and almost invisible. From the distance it looked like an +army of ants on the march. I made out four, then six, then eight--eight +columns, which, crossing the plain, were advancing directly towards me. +They seemed to come from the extreme edge of the landscape, beyond the +deserted plain in the middle of which the Mission stands. Intrigued, +I turned back into the shade of the forest, hid myself and continued +watching. The eight columns kept on moving. They joined into one the +other side of the canal, crossed it by the ford, mounted the bank +on this side and, passing in front of me, commenced to ascend the +mountain. I followed them carefully, and I noticed with astonishment +that this strange procession was composed exclusively of women. Walking +on the edges of it, a couple of dozen men at most, with lances in their +hands and crossbows on their shoulders, accompanied them. At the head +of the line went a group of sorceresses, dancing and gesticulating, +yelling incomprehensible and strident invocations, and lifting towards +the pallid moon animal-like faces, seamed with scars. When they reached +the threshold of the Sacred Forest they came to a stop. The women lined +up in a vast semicircle and I recognized among them girls of every +age, of every sort and of every race: Reungaos, Halong, Jelung, Benoun +of the great tribe of Banhars; Keumrang, Duan, Hêre, of the powerful +clan of the Sedangs; Djiru, Heun, Oy, Sapuan, who all belong to the +Bolovens.... Every tribe and every dialect of the Moï country was +represented there. A gathering extraordinary and incredible to anyone +who knows the love for their own village and the jealous passion of +separatism with which each of these clans is animated!... And seeing +all these various and dissimilar faces turned towards the sorceresses +with the same expression of submission and anxiety upon them, I first +realized the danger, yes the danger, of an unsuspected religion, and +it was there in that clearing on the border of the Sacred Forest that +suddenly I got some idea of the terrible power wielded by Jieng. + +"She had at that moment risen up, lame, her face scarred with wounds, +and with a single gesture she made them all bend, men and women, in one +simultaneous terrified movement of obeisance. Then with a sharp command +she sent the men off. 'No males can enter the Dead Country. Your women +will be returned to you on the seventh night of the fourth moon from +now. Go!' And they went, their heads hanging, without a word; while on +their side the great column of women, re-formed under the directions of +the sorceresses, resumed its march and continued the ascent toward the +Pou-Kas, slowly entering the great forest and disappearing among its +shadows...." + +He ceased, took several strides about the room, then still holding in +his eye the vision of the scene which he had just recalled he said: + +"That is what I saw.... I know no more!" + +Wanda gave a short sigh and asked: + +"But where did they go? And what was the meeting for?" + +The missionary made a vague gesture. + +"I do not know," he said. + +Then hesitating and picking his words: + +"I imagine,--please notice that I assert nothing because I know +nothing exactly,--I imagine that in the depths of the Pou-Kas there +must be a sanctuary,--a temple perhaps--or it may be only a place of +pilgrimage, to which only women have the right of approach.... Remember +that sentence of Jieng's, 'Males may not enter the Dead Country.'" He +repeated thoughtfully: + +"A religion of mystery, peculiar to the women and the secret of which +no man can penetrate, no man, not even those of their own blood!..." + +Still seated on the bench, her chin in her hand, Wanda watched him. +With a light burning in her eyes she asked: + +"And this temple ... where is it?" + +The missionary shrugged his shoulders. He swept his hand across the +window and his gesture seeming to include the whole confused mass of +mountains which stood along the horizon: + +"Without any doubt, there!" he said. + +Wanda rose. Her lingering glance for a long time searched the blue +slopes of the Pou-Kas, the sharp crest of which, barred with forest and +clothed with jungle, dominated the entire range. + +She stood, thoughtful, for a moment, then repeated: + +"There!..." And smiled strangely. + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + THE SILENT VILLAGE + + +"Believe me when I say it, Lursac, that it would be simply foolishness +for you to venture through the forest at this time of year." + +Pierre remained quiet. An answer came to his lips which he suppressed. +An answer which in another place and some weeks earlier he had heard +given by a young girl. + +He contented himself with nodding doubtfully. + +Father Ravennes, getting out of his chair, strode up and down the +veranda, his steps sounding loudly on the bare planking. He went on: + +"At least wait until we have an answer from Post 28. The messenger that +I sent there cannot be very much longer before returning; and, again, +you must think of Mademoiselle Redeski whom you could not leave alone. +I only hope that you will never have to repent having brought her up +here." + +Pierre shook his head. + +"She would have come just the same without help.... As for leaving her +alone, I have thought of that; she will come and stay with you here at +the Mission." + +Rising in his turn he took the missionary by the arm and strode with +him for several paces. + +"I suppose," he said, "that you understand the situation as well as I +do. It is now ten days since Redeski ought to have returned. The last +news we have had of him dates from three weeks back. He was then on the +Moï plateau marching north. Since that, nothing!... Something serious +must have happened evidently; it would be childish for us to ignore the +fact." + +"I don't wish to do so," said the priest. "The best proof of that is +that I have sent out three of my converts to beat the countryside in +search of information." + +"Well?" asked Pierre anxiously. + +"Two of them got back yesterday. No results!... No trace of Redeski or +of his escort." + +Pierre shot him a glance. "You see!" said he. + +The priest grumbled. + +"Yes, I see! I see!... But then again we have no accurate information: +we don't even know in which direction to search. And on the other hand, +nothing goes to prove that Redeski is in any danger, and very likely +we are disturbing ourselves quite unnecessarily. The wisest thing, I +repeat, is to await our answer from Post 28." + +"When shall we have it?" asked Pierre. + +"In eight days, ten, at the most. Then it will be time enough to +organize our expedition." + +Pierre shrugged his shoulders. + +"Our expedition! ... that's a rather large word." + +The missionary, taking out his pipe, filled it carefully, and having +loaded it he looked thoughtfully at the young man. + +"Listen to me," he said hesitatingly, "I ... I do not know if you +understand why I speak to you in this way, but...." + +Pierre looked at him. + +"I imagine that you consider yourself responsible...." + +The face of the missionary lighted up with a friendly smile. + +"The fact is," he said, "that you are just like a child in this +country." + +And as Pierre made a motion of protest he added quickly: + +"You misunderstand me.... Bravery has nothing to do with this matter. +Others who certainly were just as brave as you have lost their lives +here. The fact is that there are definite rules for the conduct of the +struggle which we are waging.... And they had no idea of them--while I, +who have lived fifteen years in the forest, I know the game from the +bottom up. I say it without any kind of pride and with all sincerity; +although since my arrival here nothing has yet appeared to confirm my +suspicions, I have the feeling that of all the parts of Indo-China in +which I have lived this one is the most unsafe...." + +Lursac, attentive to his words, watched the face of the priest. + +"What do you mean? I suppose you are thinking of the stories of +Longères and Dorcel? You know about them of course?" + +The missionary made an affirmative motion. + +"Yes," said he simply. + +A silence fell between them. From the court the voice of the corporal +calling the men for the night watch came up to them. + +"Bao, first watch. Tran, second watch. Vinh and Pâa, the watch over the +sheds of the elephants and oxen...." + +Pierre, facing the priest, asked: + +"You know something about their affair?" + +Fingering his beard the missionary replied: + +"I know nothing ... nothing ... except that we live in the middle of +a people unknown, who hate us and flee us, and whose invisible spies +watch around us--around your Post as around my Mission--spying on our +gestures, watching our comings in and our goings out and our slightest +actions." + +With a movement of his head Pierre signified his doubt. + +"Are you certain of all that?" he queried. + +The priest thought for a minute, then stretching his hand towards the +sombre mass of the Pou-Kas standing aloft in front of the fort, he said: + +"Look before you." + +Pierre raised his head. His look traveled over the scene stretched out +in front of him. Above the dull-colored gullies of the mountain a livid +rayless sun was setting slowly. In the middle of the mass of foliage +carpeting the first slope of the mountain showed a Moï village, with +its conical thatched huts dotted along a pathway edged with banana +trees and defended by a triple zareba of brush. + +In the declining daylight this lifeless silent village seemed to lie +asleep. + +The priest began to speak again in a louder voice as he pointed to the +huts: + +"How many inhabitants are there there? Fifty?... Three hundred?... What +do they do? How do they live? We shall never know!..." + +Pierre continued to watch the two fortresses, hostile towns, small and +difficult of attack, which stood, as it were, opposite to each other +and appeared to watch each other: here, down on the plain and on the +very bank of the canal the military station; up there, shadowed by the +trees of the forest the strange native village, the inhabitants of +which no European had ever seen. + +He murmured: + +"They are there, nevertheless. Look!" + +On the mountain side, every instant becoming less distant, among the +huts of the Moï village a mysterious liveliness seemed indeed to +have arisen. Here and there hearth-fires were lit, and among their +flickering lights human forms could be seen passing. The breeze, +beginning to blow at the approach of dusk, came lightly over the flanks +of the mountain and flowed towards the narrow valley, bringing to the +Post the lingering sound of a litany chanted by women's voices. + +"Yes!" said Father Ravennes, "they are there.... But no more than +Redeski and no more than me, no more than Longères and Dorcel, +doubtless, will you succeed in seeing them or taking them unawares, as +their watchword is definite: as soon as white men are seen approaching, +create a wilderness around them, disappear...." + +And as Pierre made a vague gesture he said sharply: + +"The best thing would be for you to have experience of it yourself: a +simple experiment will make you understand the country better. Perhaps +then you will attach to my advice the importance that it merits.... +Come with me." + +The priest strode along swiftly. Before the guardhouse the sentinel +saluted him without his taking the slightest notice. He cleared the +gateway with a vigorous stride. In his hurry he had forgotten to take +his hat and his hair, gray, and standing out in tangled masses, hung +round his face. He threw it back with a characteristic shake of his +head. His hand held in a strong clasp the heavy walking stick from +which he was never separated. + +Pierre caught up to him. Side by side they mingled with the shadows +of the valley through which a narrow footpath wound. Before them, +shouldering upwards into the red sky was the formidable mass of the +distant Pou-Kas. From the village the monotonous chant of the women +continued to flow downward to the plain. They reached the first spurs +of the mountain. The path disappeared: to the tall grass there had +succeeded a denser, heavier vegetation of trees and bushes. + +Suddenly Pierre stood still. + +"Listen!" whispered the priest. + +Arrested in their progress they leaned forward and listened with all +their ears. The unknown singers had suddenly stopped their mournful +song. There was a short interval, and then the heavy sound of a gong +spread itself abroad in the forest carried far and near by the echoes +of the mountain. Then everything became inexplicably silent, and the +forest appeared more vast, more threatening. From the sky of mauve and +pink, night was about to fall; and under the final caresses of the sun +the forest prepared to receive it with a vast immobility of silence and +stillness. The missionary drew himself up again. + +"Let us go on," said he. + +They set themselves to continue their climb. With eyes alert they slid +from tree to tree up towards the mysterious forest, the threshold of +which like a dark and living wall was stretched out above them. From +time to time the bark of a wolfhound mixed with the clucking of a fowl, +without it being possible to say whether it came upwards from the fort +or downwards from the village. + +Finally they penetrated the real forest. Its bluish-green heavy damp +shadow fell about them, the shadow peculiar to the virgin undergrowth +which the rays of the sun never reach and which seems all the denser +and all the colder from its dark stagnation unbroken by anything or +anybody. Under their feet the soft spongy soil gave and slid. + +And suddenly, after their having climbed a last ledge walled about with +century-old _dau_ trees with enormous trunks, they found themselves +before the exterior of the village. A narrow path ran forward between +two massive walls of thorny brush and was blocked by a heavy gate. +Without the least hesitation Father Ravennes dashed into the outlandish +enclosure with Pierre close behind him. They no longer took any +precautions against being seen. They went swiftly, silently, and with +their attention fixed ahead, following the open runway before them. +They found two other gates similar to the first one, but lower, and +they had to bend to get through them. Finally they came out in the +middle of the village. In the centre of an open space, bordered on +either side by a row of banana trees, four long dark huts showed +pointed roofs. In front of each of them a sort of primitive tripod made +of twisted bamboos supported curiously shaped stones. + +As quickly as possible Lursac and the missionary made their way +forward. Between the shining trunks of the bananas a few fowls ran +off cackling. From the first hut a hoarse barking arose, and a mangy +wolfhound with its ribs sticking through its skin dashed out. He made +for the two men, ran round them growling, from time to time throwing up +his pointed muzzle towards the sky and howling. + +They went through the huts rapidly one after the other, looking +carefully at the rough walls and searching the shadows which clung +about the rice-bins and gathered under the straw roofs blackened by +soot and the smoke of household fires. In one of these dwellings, +consisting of a single room like all the rest, in the middle of +a rectangle of stamped down earth surrounded by a great family +sleeping-bench a few live coals were just dying, showing here and +there a red spark which was answered by the light of two other smaller +hearth-fires in the corners of the room set beside the bench on small +sheets of clay. A warm smell of cooked rice hung heavy in the air. Here +and there rags were scattered about, and under a beam a crossbow still +swung suspended from a peg. + +The priest turned to Pierre. + +"Well! what do you say to that? Is it perfectly plain? Do you +understand now that to make your way through such a country as this, +an ... expedition is necessary?" + +His voice hesitated and then emphasised the word "expedition." + +Lursac spoke his thought aloud. + +"How the devil could they have been warned?" + +The priest smiled. + +"Well, what do you make of the gong that sounded while we were coming +up here?... The system is perfectly simple: they saw us come out from +the Post and begin to mount towards the village. One of the native +braves, while we were struggling in the middle of the forest, ran here, +got ahead of us, gave three or four bangs on the gong and every one +cleared out!..." + +A feeling of depression came over Pierre. + +"They cleared out, certainly, but how? We arrived at the entrance +to the village a few minutes after the gong sounded, we should have +seen them if they had come out that way, for at any rate they are not +invisible!..." + +The missionary nodded assent. + +"Perfectly right," said he, "follow me!" + +He led the way to the last _cai-nha_, and going in, went to the +furthest angle of the room; then, kneeling down, he slid under the +bench and disappeared. Pierre imitated him. He immediately discovered +in the surface of the wall an opening, carefully cut, over which a slab +of board could be lowered like a shutter. + +Going forward on his hands and knees he found himself outside. He then +saw running through the midst of a mass of tangled underbrush a little +footpath blocked by a doorway like those at the entrance of the village. + +Beside him, Father Ravennes explained. + +"The service entrance! ... but I myself have my spies too...." + +And as Pierre made a step towards the path he interrupted himself to +shout violently: + +"Don't stir!" at the same time taking him by the arm and pulling him +backwards. Pierre flinging a rapid look around asked: + +"What's the matter? Is there danger?" + +The missionary shook his head. + +"No good looking at the forest, it isn't what you think. These animals +are too cunning to attack us from the front. No, it is not around us +that the danger lies, but at our feet!"... + +Flinging down his eyes Pierre examined the soil carefully. About a +yard before him on the other side of the open gate the path, muddy +and covered with a carpet of dead leaves and crushed grass, ran with +sharp turns between its two walls of brush. It seemed to him peaceful +and familiar, calling up in his mind the memory of those narrow, +trough-like lanes of Brittany along which he used to go in his boyhood, +picking the blackberries and the yellow honeysuckle clinging among the +brambles and wild vines. + +He said: + +"I see nothing." + +"Evidently," said the priest. "I also, in my first experience of them, +found nothing suspicious, and I paid dearly for it!" + +He drew back the edge of his white _cai-quan_, showing his right leg +which stood out strongly, grooved with veins and studded with muscles. +With his finger he outlined a sort of long furrow of dark red which ran +down the flesh of the calf. He explained: + +"An extraordinary piece of good luck got me out of it with just this +slight wound. A few inches lower and I should have had my tendon cut +and have been permanently lamed ... and then again, I have never been +able to understand why they did not poison their devilish device, since +it is their habit to do so! Our lives here, more than anywhere else, +are in the hands of Providence...." + +While speaking he made a few steps forward with great care. Bending +over in the opening of the gate he grubbed with the point of his +walking stick in the mud path and the scattered leaves, showing solidly +bedded in the earth and pointing obliquely upwards a series of arrows +with sharpened points cut to a fine edge and tipped with a reddish +stain made by successive dippings in vegetable poison. + +He started back. + +"Look there!" said he, "no boot sole could stand against that, and no +flesh and blood either. A slight or a deep cut, and the result would +be exactly the same: a few minutes after the accident a burning in +the wounded limb, followed almost immediately by a general stupor, by +faintings and fever; then after an hour or two of atrocious suffering, +the end,--unavoidable and without any possible remedy!..." + +He stopped speaking. Bending over towards the soil he scraped carefully +back over the ground which he had uncovered the scattered leaves and +grass. Pierre said nothing. + +Drawing himself up again the missionary pointed out a sort of terrace +which the forest left uncovered above them. + +"And there," said he, "in that exact spot begins what they call 'the +Dead Country,' that is to say, the zone into which no man is allowed to +penetrate, even if he is of the Moï race.... Then again, in order to +reach as quickly as possible the last stage of Redeski's journey which +we know of, it is across the forbidden country that we must cut. Let us +wait then. If it is necessary we will organise your troop...." + +Pierre still said nothing. Re-covered with their carpet of leaves, the +arrow heads were no longer visible. Nevertheless, with his features +drawn, his fists clenched, the young man continued watching the path +with a fixed and savage stare. He was thinking; and his thoughts, +whirling and broken, took on a bitter and terrible tinge, a feeling of +rage and death. + +There they stood, the two of them, motionless and wrapped in thought, +Pierre with his back against the dingy wall of the _cai-nha_ and the +priest before him watching him. Around them the dusk flowed through the +forest. The trembling dark sea of trees became every moment more huge +and more menacing. The clear line of the Pou-Kas when they raised their +eyes to it became lost in a purple sky already invaded by darkness. +And, through the silence of the world over which the dark kept watch, +there rose only from time to time the hoarse voice of the wolfhound +left alone in the village and baying at the night. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + LOVE IN THE FOREST + + +The winter season drew along and came near to its end. From the +piled-up accumulation of clouds which lay on the great group of +mountains the rain pelted with more violence but at longer intervals +each day. Between storms the clouds rolled away and opened, blown +by sudden winds, leaving in the sky great sparkling blue deeps +through which the rays of the sun flamed and fell upon the Post. The +atmosphere, one moment dark and thick, and the next suddenly full of +light, was heavy, moist, and charged with deadly heat. + +Wanda and Pierre since their arrival at the Post had introduced a +certain regularity into their daily life. The same monotony brought +them together in their difficulties as well as in their pleasures. +Every morning they went over to the Mission where Father Ravennes gave +them a lesson in Banhar, the rough and primitive dialect of the natives +of the region. In the afternoon they wandered on horseback all about +the station, some days by themselves and others accompanied by the +missionary. Now and then they climbed up towards the mountain, making +a circuit about the mysterious village, but always being careful not +to get too deep into the forest. Then, in the evening, after dinner, +on the seats under the veranda at the Post they talked together, while +through the night rose the thin sound of the flutes with which the +_linhs_ accompanied their homesick chants which they had brought with +them from their country of Laos. + +And this was the peaceful hour--the hour they liked best--during which +unconsciously both of them put aside restraint at the call of this +mysterious destiny which had brought them together in the depths of the +forest alone, each with a heart so ardent and so young. + +Lursac, particularly, fell under the charm of this camaraderie and +enjoyed it to the full, light-heartedly. But soon with this plain +and simple feeling something more complex, less peaceful also, had +become mingled. Pierre had very soon indeed found awakening in himself +for this strange, wilful and beautiful girl a tenderness in which +admiration, fear, and weakness were mingled. Then, spending his days +side by side with her, he had felt an eager love take possession of +him little by little with its hitherto unguessed-at sweetness, and, +finally, flood his whole being with its irresistible power. Wanda, +however, continually bewildered him. Generally distant or reserved, +she sometimes became childlike and tender. At such moments she flung +constraint to the winds without any warning: then as suddenly froze +again, disconcerting him by these sudden changes in humor, by the +caprices of a heart whose secret he could never fathom. So in her +presence he remained hesitant and timid, irritated by his own weakness +and impatience, feeling her difficult to understand, impossible to +follow, with every fibre of his being in revolt against her instability +of temperament which day by day forced him to put off the avowal which +he had sworn to himself to make. + +On this particular afternoon they were taking their usual ride. + +Through thick foliage shining with the damp the path led away, +obstructed here and there with swamps and blocked in places by trunks +of uprooted trees. At their regular, undeviating pace, the sure-footed +ponies followed it, the bridles hanging on their necks. Around them +the great Lao-ese forest pressed in upon them, vast and deep, cradling +between its enormous upspringing shafts, which gave it the aspect of +a giant cathedral, the heavy perfume of rotting earth, voluptuous and +unhealthy. Among the bushes and the undergrowth a bluish-green daylight +drifted, uncertain and deceptive--a sunless daylight, transparent, +the color of green leaves, such as sifts sometimes through the dusty +windows of an old sanctuary long abandoned and given up to shadows and +forgetfulness.... + +Plucking as she went an orchid which hung from a thorny creeper, Wanda +announced: + +"We will stop at the first clearing: I feel tired...." + +Absorbed in contemplation of her, Pierre gave no answer. Clothed +in her gray tailored suit--the same that she had worn that night, +already so long past, on which she had paid him that strange visit at +Khône-Sud--she rode before him, and he with his mind lost in a vague +thoughtfulness watched her. His glance slowly dwelt on the dainty +outline which not even the jolting trot of the ponies could dishevel, +and every detail came to him with a new joy:--a bit of her neck shining +white in the shadow of the felt hat; the curve of her shoulders, as +the strong and flexible figure gave gracefully to the motion of the +horse; the supple waist, and the long delicate line of her leg outlined +in red leather, and the fine arch of the foot strongly planted in the +stirrup.... + +With her hand lying on the croup of her animal she turned back towards +him. Catching the long look charged with emotion and admiration with +which he seemed to embrace her, she blushed. + +"Do you hear me, Pierre, I am tired." + +Her voice a little sharp, she spoke louder than usual. + +He started, and pushed his mount alongside that of the girl. + +"Certainly," said he, "we will stop as soon as you wish." + +And he fell again into his dream. At last, watching him out of the +corners of her eyes, she said: + +"You are not very pleasant this morning. I suppose you slept badly?" + +He nodded his head. + +"True," said he, "I hardly closed my eyes." + +And as he spoke there came before him the sleepless night that he had +just passed. A troubled and feverish night, through which he had done +nothing but think long thoughts of Wanda; and the visions which had +obsessed him and kept him wide awake at his window came back into his +mind. With the sudden beating of his heart there flowed upon him once +more the violent emotion which had tormented him through the night; +and the same question which had then haunted him faced him again for +solution: Did Wanda love him? + +The uncertainty was no longer to be borne. + +The path, now widening, opened into a clearing. Wanda jumped down from +her horse and Pierre imitated her. With the bridles over their arms +they made a few steps side by side. + +"Now," thought Pierre, "I will speak to her, I will tell her...." + +But the girl's voice breaking the silence interrupted him. + +"A poor harvest!" said she. + +And sitting on a stump overgrown with moss she spread out before him a +few curiously shaped stones. She repeated: + +"A poor harvest! Father Ravennes will not be able to congratulate us on +that!" + +He stood facing her. + +"You are right," he said sharply. "Since Father Ravennes showed you his +collection of prehistoric remains there doesn't seem to be anything +else that interests you!" + +"Yes, he made a good convert of me," she said, smiling. "Here am I, who +two months ago didn't even know there was such a thing as anthropology +or palæontology, now mad about carved flints and dreaming of nothing +but axes and scrapers and skeletons. But how learned he is on the +subject, and what words he finds to describe his dear prehistoric +man!... I shall never forget his face, at once horrified and amazed, +when I told him that our ancestors must have been horribly ugly. +'Quaternary man _ugly_!' cried he, 'Who put that into your head? +Uncivilized, savage, wild, without doubt!--but _ugly_? Good Heavens! +No! Unless you find horrible anything that resembles nature, anything +that is strong, powerful and active! Primitive man? He was certainly +a rough, strong being, with rude health, formidable muscles, and a +splendid lithe body; a primitive athlete, superb in strength, browned +by the sun and burned by the weather, hardened by privations and as +dangerous to the wild beasts as to his fellows....'" She remained a +moment thoughtful and then: + +"After all, suppose he was right?" + +Pierre had sat down beside her. With hanging head he absently handled +the stones laid on the earth before her. + +"Yes," said he, "and for a whole week I have beaten the forest with you +looking for fossils...." + +She turned to him and looked at him: + +"Are you complaining of it?" + +He protested: + +"No.... No...." + +And, suddenly making up his mind, in an uncertain voice he continued: + +"No ... but today, if you will let me, we will not talk of prehistoric +things, I have something to tell you...." + +She drew herself lightly away, but still turned towards him she watched +him attentively with her frank glance. + +He felt his heart beat furiously in little short feverish throbs. + +"Something to say to you ...," said he, "a confession ... I...." + +Quickly she stretched out her arm and laid her hand across his lips: + +"I know," she said steadily, "you love me...." + +Pierre, seizing her hand, kissed it passionately. + +"No," said he, "you do not know.... It was back there on the +_Vien-Thian_, when I saw you for the first time!... You were talking to +Captain Rabaud. Do you remember?... I do not know why the sound of your +voice attracted me, and when you had refused to take me for a fellow +traveler I felt disappointment and a strange pain ... and then you came +to see me at Khône...." + +She did not withdraw her fingers. With her head lowered and her eyes +half-shut she seemed to be thinking deeply. + +"I hardly saw you that morning going on shore, and yet, nevertheless, +somehow I knew that you would not refuse my request," she said. + +"Yes ... and your victory was so easy and so complete that you must +have been surprised at it yourself!" + +She raised her eyes to his. He noticed the softened look in them, one +which he had never seen there before. Profoundly moved, he stammered: + +"Wanda ... Wanda ... I love you,--so, so much. Tell me, you believe me?" + +Her look flowed into his and seemed to search into the most hidden +corners of his heart. + +There was a little silence which she suddenly broke: + +"Yes," she said simply, "I believe you...." + +He breathed heavily as though freed from some agony. A wave of joy +spread over his face. + +"When your brother comes back I will speak to him ... you wish me to, +do you?" + +She got up and walked towards her horse. + +He followed her. + +"Answer me, Wanda!" he implored, his voice hoarse with emotion. + +Her foot in the stirrup, she sprang up lightly and settled herself in +the saddle. + +His hand on the neck of her horse and his head raised in anxiety he +repeated: + +"I may?... Tell me!..." + +She bent towards him. Their faces were so close that the details of her +features seemed to escape him and before his eyes Pierre could only +see two brown eyes wonderfully liquid, the color of dead leaves, and +palpitating with the beating of the dark lashes. + +His look fell lower and caught sight of the moist crimson lips like a +marvellous fruit. + +A violent spasm of emotion overwhelmed him, he shut his eyes and +shivered at the thought of those lips laid on his in a kiss. + +At the same time, with his hands moist and his throat dry, he searched +vainly for words, for some tender phrase to serve as a plea for his +love. But in his feverish brain one single question, the same, came to +the surface like an obsession and for the third time he asked: + +"Will you let me?" + +She bent a little over him and suddenly taking his face between her +hands she kissed him on the lips almost savagely while her breath +mingled with his. + +"Yes," she cried, "for I, I love you also." + +And she repeated passionately: + +"I love you!... I love you!..." + +Then flinging herself quickly back from him, she whipped up her pony, +which started off at a gallop. + +He caught up with her in a few seconds, and then they descended +together the flank of the mountain, letting their animals go as they +liked. Between the springing shafts of the _dau_ trees, the _igieurs_, +the _trueuls_, the path zigzagged, here turning to go round a bush and +there avoiding a mass of creepers. Side by side they jogged along, as +they went building castles in Spain for the future, and sketching their +lives together according to their most secret longings. + +Suddenly pulling his signet ring from his ring-finger, Pierre held it +out to the girl. + +"I have no other ring to offer you just now," he said, "no jewel, no +diamond! ... will you wear this for me meanwhile?" + +She took the ring, slipped it on to her finger and with her long pale +hand raised before her eyes she asked: + +"Is it very old?" + +"Yes, my great-great-grandfather had it when he was killed at the +battle of Fontenoy. Since then it has passed from father to eldest son." + +She examined the coat of arms: + +"A lion.... A chevron...." + +"_Dexter, argent, a lion sable--Sinister, azure, a chevron or_," he +quoted, smiling. + +She repeated the heraldic description slowly. + +"Very well," she said, "I shall know now how to blazon our arms, and I +will keep them faithfully--as faithfully as my love...." + +And in her turn she smiled, with a look at once solemn and tender. + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + AN INTERVIEW WITH A SORCERESS + + +That afternoon, for a change, the weather was soft and clement. Side by +side, abreast, they descended towards the plain at the easy-going pace +of their mounts. Between the trees below them they saw the Moï village, +its straw roofs, long and pointed, piercing the forest like gold +arrows, while, rising from one of the cabins, a thin column of smoke, +straight and blue, stood in the motionless air. + +Suddenly breaking the silence, the girl asked him: + +"Don't you think that that village must be one of the haunts of Jieng?" + +"It is possible, Father Ravennes thinks so, but he is no more sure of +it than we are." + +Wanda flung him a sharp glance. + +"You speak of it as if it did not matter! Doesn't that interest you in +any way? For my part, I should like to discover the mysterious power +that this woman represents and of which Father Ravennes obtained proof +that night in the forest. And then perhaps she could tell us something +about what has happened to Michael. Ah! if only I could catch her." + +Lursac with a shrug of his shoulders signified lack of interest. + +"What good would that do you? You don't imagine that she would tell you +her secrets?" + +Wanda remained thoughtful. + +"Who knows?" said she, after a moment's thought. "And, anyway, what +should I risk? She might say nothing or she might tell me things that +weren't true." + +"Yes," said Pierre, "certainly, and also perhaps you might get an +unexpected spear-thrust or a dagger in your back!" + +The young girl made a motion of scorn. + +"She would not dare," said she, "and, besides, this is a very excellent +chance! Let us try it together!" + +"Wanda!" cried Pierre, "Wanda!" He stretched out his hand to try to +hold her back, but on the word she had pushed forward her horse and was +galloping down the slope. + +He immediately realized that it was too late to stop her; and he +then had only one thought, to protect her. He whipped up his horse +mercilessly. + +They arrived abreast at the entrance to the village. Pierre recognized +the path of brush by which he and Father Ravennes had a week earlier +penetrated into the settlement. + +Flat down on the neck of his pony he took the lead of Wanda and passed +the three gates one after the other. At his side he heard the heavy +breathing and the hoof-beats of Wanda's horse galloping close behind, +and when, on coming out on the village square, he stopped, he found the +girl beside him. He took her by the arm and brought her to a standstill. + +"For the love of Heaven!" he cried, "let me do it!" + +Jumping to the ground he ran towards a cabin, whose wide-open door +showed a black rectangle in the midst of which flickered the flame of a +hearth-fire. + +On the threshold of the single room reeking with bitter smoke he stood +still, searching the shadows before him. Squatted before a fire of +branches some twenty savages, with long Moï pipes in their mouths, were +silently smoking. A stupor seemed to hold them all motionless in their +places. Seated on the bench before the semicircle of warriors a woman +had just that instant stopped speaking. + +Pierre, taking no notice of the men, strode towards her and, by chance +remembering the description which Father Ravennes had given him, he +said, in Banhar: + +"I greet you, O Jieng!" + +Wanda, biting back an exclamation, examined the sorceress eagerly. +Her bent, crouching body appeared that of a child. Ragged and filthy +cotton drawers, rolled round her waist and descending below the knee, +left in plain sight thin, bony shoulders, a withered skin creased with +wrinkles and hacked with scars. On the hearth a little log was burning. +In the dancing light the hideous face of Jieng could be plainly seen; +under her gray hair and narrow forehead showed the bloody marks of +an outlandish tattooed design gashed into the skin. A single eye was +alive, half-closed, dull and blinking: the other with its bleared, +corroded lids gave the effect of a running abscess. A cut, still +unhealed, disfigured the chin, stretching up towards the cheek, and, +circling the lips, gave to the toothless mouth, stained with betel-nut, +the aspect of a raw wound slashed across the face. + +Alone in the middle of her dumbfounded people she remained unmoved. She +turned her mutilated face towards the young folk and regarded them with +her single eye without showing any emotion whatever. + +"I greet you," she replied. + +She raised her hand, showing on her arm rings of copper which glistened +in the dusk. Pointing to the door, she said to the men: + +"Go!" + +They got up doubtfully. The fire on the hearth lit up their thick, bony +forms, brought out their strong arms and thighs and revealed their red +bodies in which the supple, powerful muscles rippled under the skin. +Pierre noted that they were equipped for war, their faces painted +white, hatchets on their shoulders, curved daggers stuck into the belts +of their loin-cloths and their long hair plaited up into knots, while +collars of animals' teeth rattled round their necks, and their ankles +and knees were ornamented with copper rings. Already they were in the +act of taking down their bows and quivers that hung on the wall. + +But the young man, with a brusque gesture, signed to them to stop. + +"No!" he ordered, "no one is to move." + +In her flat level voice Jieng asked: + +"Why do you want them?" + +And as he hesitated she looked straight into his face. + +"Those who sit by our hearth, however they came there," said she in the +same calm indifferent tone, "have nothing to fear. Were you not aware +of that?" + +And once more pointing to the door, she repeated: + +"Go!" + +One by one they filed out without Pierre attempting to prevent them. +On the threshold each stood still for a moment and bowed towards the +_Bo Jaou_. The salute revealed a wild and haughty servility, a sort of +fanaticism mixed with fear and suppressed rage. Their supple, gliding +walk, as of animals in captivity, at once crafty, obedient and ready +for revolt, suggested the idea of wild animals which give way before +the tamer, crouching, bent double, kept down by fear, but nevertheless, +always waiting and ready to give a deadly blow of the paw. + +The last of them, a great big fellow with massive shoulders and thick +hands, cast on the young man a look of hate so heavy, so threatening, +that the latter felt it cover him almost like something tangible. +They looked each other up and down for a second, and then, when the +warrior disappeared, Lursac turned back to the sorceress. Her legs +folded under her, her body rigid and her hands flat upon her withered +thighs, she continued to preserve her attitude of a Buddhist idol +and her expressionless face of a statue. She pretended to ignore the +presence of the young man, just as she did Wanda sitting beside her on +the bench, and this indifference, at once haughty and careless, worried +Pierre. + +"This lady," he explained, pointing to Wanda, "wanted to see you." + +The sorceress turned her head slightly and, with a glance, she examined +Wanda: + +"She is beautiful," she said simply. + +The girl smiled. + +"I wanted to know you," said she. "They have talked to me about you so +much." + +Jieng remained unmoved. A short cough shook her and made her hunch her +shoulders. + +"Who, then, talks of an old woman like me?" + +"Everyone," said Wanda. + +And abruptly she challenged her: + +"Do you not reign over this country?" + +A light, immediately veiled, flashed in the dull eye of the sorceress. + +"How could I?" she asked. "Look at me. Death is waiting for me. For a +long time I have seen him beckoning to me. The gate is open for me...." + +A second attack of coughing tore her skinny chest; choking and +suffocating, she spat, gasping and twisted with pain. + +Already Wanda, full of compassion, was beginning to sympathize with her. + +An exclamation from Pierre, however, turned the current of her thoughts +and reawakened her curiosity. + +"Look, Wanda, more prehistoric remains." + +She cast a glance at the corner of the cabin at which he was pointing. +Against a partition of split bamboo, on a large wooden stand, round a +tiny hearth where a few live coals were gradually dying, flint hammers +and axes and some bones were set out in a semicircle. A skull dominated +them, set upon a block of wood; and the red glow from the little hearth +flecking the ivory of the bones with red, created two pools of shadows +in the empty eye-sockets. + +Wanda examined the peculiar altar with passionate interest. Then her +attention, up to that time concentrated on the sorceress, passed to the +entire cabin. On the walls blackened with smoke she noticed the heads +of animals and the skins of wild beasts; yellow skeletons and tawny +furs; elephants' ears; monkeys' hands, twisted and brown, showing red +palms stretched towards the bundles of bows and lances. + +Triumphantly, she jerked out: + +"And what is that? This skull and these flint weapons?" + +The sorceress made an evasive gesture. + +"Yes!" said she, "trifles ... that we find in ... in the mountain...." + +Wanda imperiously demanded particulars: + +"Why do you put them on an altar, as if they were sacred things?" + +"These ... these are fetiches, ... the fathers of our fathers did this +... and in our turn we...." + +The girl recognised the hopelessness of her question. She took the +sorceress by the arm. + +"Don't you know? Who, then, is the high-priestess of this religion? +Aren't _you_?" + +Jieng parried the question adroitly. + +"We worship everything that seems strange to us--strange ... yes ... +and above us,--a fire, thunder.... Is that what you mean?" + +She had pulled away her arm, but not quickly enough to prevent Wanda +feeling the shiver which had shaken it: at the same time, with her +single eye persistently upon him, she watched Pierre standing in front +of her. + +"No," said Wanda, "I am talking of the religion which everywhere brings +together all the Moï women in mysterious pilgrimages. Where do they go? +And why only the women?" + +The sorceress started. She twisted herself slightly. Once more her +eye was riveted on the young man. With a sort of tired obstinacy, she +repeated: + +"I don't understand. Really, I don't understand...." + +As if crushed, trembling, she began to cough again. + +A cruel bronchial rattling seemed to choke her: she groaned, pressing +her emaciated sides with her two hands. + +Pierre shrugged his shoulders angrily. + +"I told you," said he, "that you would not get anything out of her." + +Wanda rose. A thought had just come into her mind, while a sentence of +Father Ravennes' sounded in her ears: "A mysterious religion reserved +for women, and of which no man must penetrate the secret." + +Her look fell in turn on Jieng and Pierre de Lursac. + +And to herself she murmured: + +"No man ... no man...." + +Aloud she said: + +"You are right. Let us go. Look and see if the horses are there!" + +Standing in the middle of the hut, she followed him with her eyes. On +the threshold, he turned back and looked at Jieng for an instant. + +"Poor old woman!" he said, "she can't last very much longer; in any +case, she is nothing to be afraid of." + +With a doubtful smile on her lips, Wanda remained silent, but directly +he had gone out she walked resolutely up to the sorceress. + +"Jieng," said she, "have you really nothing to tell me?" + +The old woman raised her head. Her glance met that of the young girl--a +new glance, intelligent, acute and deep, which seemed to want to +penetrate the most secret thoughts of the stranger. + +She made no answer. + +"Nothing?" ... insisted Wanda. "Not even to me who am a woman. To me +alone?" + +A flash shone from the eye of the sorceress and made it glitter +strangely. Her entire face seemed to reflect doubt and hesitation. + +"To you alone?" she said, uncertainly, "to ... to you, alone?" + +Suddenly her visage became stone and took on its mask of passive +indifference. + +"Your companion is calling for you," she said. + +Through the open door could be heard the sounds of the approaching +horses, and the voice of Pierre: + +"Wanda, are you coming?..." + +The young woman bent over and whispered, quickly: + +"If I come back alone, two days from now, at sunset, will you be here?" + +Jieng hung her head, her single eye closed. + +"Perhaps," she said simply. + +But a meaning grin flickered over her mouth and twisted her lips almost +imperceptibly. + + + + + CHAPTER X + + THE FUGITIVE + + +Father Ravennes turned to face the congregation. His joined hands +separated: + +"_Ite, missa est._..." + +In the cool, dark chapel his gesture of benediction seemed to spread, +bowing the heads of the worshipers. + +And while the missionary once more facing the tabernacle recited the +closing gospel, "_In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was +God_ ..." the converts one by one left the chapel. + +Wanda and Lursac came out last. Above them, the sonorous voice of the +bell shed abroad its solemn rhythmic cadences. Torn, as it were, by +long tremblings, the transparent atmosphere vibrated, throbbing slowly +across the little Christian settlement, as the warm earth reflected the +dazzling light of the sun and the shadow of the trees and the clear +outline of the buildings stood rigid and heavy against the glare. + +Father Ravennes, coming out in his turn, joined the young folk who were +waiting for him before the door of the chapel. + +Wanda immediately took his arm. + +"Your courier has got back from Post 28, I hear. Now what?" + +They were walking across the court towards the priest's house. The +bell had ceased to sound. A vast silence, soft and peaceful, once more +covered everything. + +The missionary, saying nothing, made a slight movement with his head. +Wanda noticed his air of constraint. + +"There is no news, I suppose?" + +Her trembling voice, slightly hoarse and heavy with anxiety, moved the +priest. He made no direct answer, avoiding her question with strategy: + +"They believe, back there, that Redeski must have turned off towards +the west in order to strike for the Post by the southern route. The +idea is not unlikely; it even seems to fit in very well with the +information which I got from the last of the messengers I sent to +enquire in that neighborhood...." + +Pierre watched him carefully, trying to read in his expression the +whole truth of which his words suggested only a small portion. He +caught the swift, imperceptible sign that the priest flung him. His +uneasiness grew. He understood that the missionary considered the +situation grave, and that under his apparent calm was concealed real +anxiety. + +"Think of it, Father Ravennes, it is now nearly three weeks since +Michael ought to have been back among us," said Wanda. "We must decide +something, do something, we cannot go on like this in uncertainty...." + +The missionary flung a glance sideways towards the mountain. + +"I know someone," said he, "who could clear up our doubt, if only we +could get at her and hold her!" + +Pierre, who had followed his glance, immediately guessed. + +"Jieng!" he exclaimed. + +"Jieng? But we saw her the day before yesterday," said Wanda. + +The missionary stopped abruptly: + +"You caught sight of Jieng?" he asked curtly. "Where, and when?" + +"No," said she, "not caught sight of her, but actually saw her. I even +talked to her, the day before yesterday, in her village in the midst of +her warriors." + +Astounded, the priest murmured: + +"It was madness to dare to do that all by yourself." + +The girl, between her half-closed lids, shot a curious look at him. + +"Pierre was with me," she said simply. + +Then, relating her arrival at the village, she described the assembly +of men, sketched the portrait of the old woman in agony upon her bench, +pictured the hut with its walls hung with skins of wild beasts and +furs, and finally portrayed the strange altar in its corner dedicated +to prehistoric arms and surmounted with its human skull. + +The missionary became excited: + +"A skull!" said he, "a skull? Did you examine it?" + +"We didn't think of that," said Lursac, "we were too much interested in +trying to make Jieng talk. You see, we had more or less the same idea +as you." + +Father Ravennes started forward: + +"Ah!" said he, excitedly, "did you manage it?" + +Wanda answered him: + +"No. And in any case she is by no means the imperious and tyrannizing +priestess we have imagined her, but a very old woman, exhausted, dying." + +"Just that," agreed Lursac, "an old beggar whom they no doubt show +respect to because of her age." And he gave a short laugh. "When I +think that we took her for this mysterious and maleficent power which +holds the countryside in terror! Ah! What an idea!..." + +The missionary remained silent. + +They had resumed their walk. Before the house where the converts lived +in common they stopped for an instant. Sheltered under the floor of +the hut, to which the piles which supported it gave the air of a huge +pigeon-cote, women were grinding rice in a mortar and the heavy sound +of the pestle kept time with the chant with which they lightened their +labor. About them a group of youngsters, crouched in a circle, were +playing at knuckle-bones. As the missionary came up, they stopped their +game and ran to meet him. Hanging on to his tunic with their heads +raised towards him, they surrounded him. Their thin faces, unused to +smiling, were spread with joyous grins. + +Father Ravennes tapped them softly on the head. + +"Good morning, children!" said he. + +His voice, usually piercing and imperious, became caressing. He took +one of the youngsters and held him up. + +"It's nicer here than in the forest, eh! little scamp?" said he, +tenderly. + +The child laughed as he swung his legs happily, stretching out his +hands and plunging them into the missionary's gray beard. His eyes +lighted up with kindness, the priest smiled on him; then putting him on +the ground he cried: + +"Attention! Who wants to win a piece of sugar?" + +Immediately the court resounded with the children's cries. + +Father Ravennes bent his long back. + +"Now, listen," he explained, "do you see this key?" + +And at the same time taking from his girdle the key of the chapel, he +flung it in front of him. It flew up sideways, fell, bounced, and came +to rest finally close to the gate, some thirty yards away. + +"The one that brings me that will have the reward." + +Already, the children were starting to dash after it.... + +The priest stopped them. + +"Gently! ... gently!... Little ones in front, now ... the big ones +here.... Good. Everybody ready? Now.... Go!..." + +Shouting and pushing, the tiny troop rushed off. Wanda followed them +with her eyes. + +"How pretty they are!" she cried. + +Across the court, blazing with light, the little naked bodies, clad +only with loin-cloths, shone agile and supple in the sun. + +"Yes," said Father Ravennes, "true, they are beautiful! With all the +grace and all the bubbling joy of childhood. And it is of them that I +am thinking when I pardon their parents all their deceits and all their +weaknesses. Poor little mites!... Who would have the courage to throw +them back into the moral misery and the physical degeneracy of the +forest? Yes, ... my real work is there, and this strength and health +that I have brought into being around me for the little ones, for...." + +Sharp cries interrupted him. Their dash suddenly cut short, the +children had come to a full stop several yards from their goal. In a +group before the gate, they gesticulated. One of them made a few steps, +bent over, and then quickly ran back and immediately with a single +impulse the whole band rushed back to the priest. + +They encircled him, out of breath, crying: + +"Ah! ... a woman ... a dead woman!" + +Lursac caught one of them by the arm. + +"What? What are you telling us? A woman!... Where?" + +"There before the gate ... dead, dead...." + +Wanda and the missionary hurried off. Pierre came up with them before +the heavy entrance gate, now blocked by a doubled-up body with the legs +bent under it and the arms stretched wide. + +Father Ravennes, on his knees, lifted the head gently. Between the +tangled locks of hair a woman's face was visible, covered with dust, as +with a red mask, her eyes closed and lips bloodless. From a wound on +the forehead, near the temple, a narrow streak of blood trickled round +the corner of the eye, down the cheek and chin, towards the throat. She +was almost naked, only the loins and the upper part of the thighs being +covered with a wide kilt of brilliant-colored cloth. + +The missionary, seeing it, remarked: + +"A wild Stieng.[9] It is the only tribe whose women do not wear a +tunic. But how the devil did she get here?" + +[Footnote 9: An independent tribe of Upper Laos.] + +"Dead?" asked Wanda. + +"No. In a faint. We'll try and bring her to." + +He signed to Lursac and to one of his converts: + +"Please bring her to my house: I'll go and get what's necessary." + +The faithful who had run up were crowding round in order to see better. +The missionary waved them away with a gesture. Lursac and the man took +the body and lifted it; they crossed the court again and climbed up to +the priest's house and took their burden into "the Cave." Stretched out +on the bench, the woman was seen to be tall and thin, very young, her +chest furrowed with scratches and her legs stained with black mud. + +Wanda had dropped to her knees at her side. With her handkerchief she +stanched the blood, which was trickling from the temple down to the +lips. The woman gave a slight shiver, her chin trembled, her fingers +contracted and a gentle moan came from her throat. + +Father Ravennes bent over her and bathed her forehead. The moaning +ceased; a long groan, broken and gasping, followed which fretted the +silence of the room with hoarse sound. + +"Ah!" said Wanda, "listen, she is trying to talk." + +They gathered round her, bending over, the better to catch her +fragmentary and uncertain words. + +"No ... no ... not to the temple.... Thanks! Drink ... drink!..." + +Wanda moistened her lips and dropped between the clenched teeth a few +drops of alcohol. + +The voice begged: + +"More! ... more!..." + +A short silence followed, during which, with her face relaxed she +eagerly swallowed a little water flavored with rum. + +Then she opened her eyes. Her glance wandered around her, vague and +anxious, then meeting the face of Father Ravennes it fixed itself. In +the depths of her dark eyes a light came and went, grew, and slowly +took on the appearance of intelligence and life. + +Suddenly, she pulled herself up: + +"Father! ... Father! ... save me! They want to take me away to the +mountain ... they want to take me ... they are coming...." + +And, her face distorted by fear, she went off into delirium. + +"The Bo-Jaous.... There they are, waiting for me.... Look.... Look.... +their hands are making signs to me and their faces are grinning at +me...." + +Then, with her arms stretched out towards the bay, opening to the +plains, she shrieked: + +"There ... there ... see Jieng, coming to fetch me for tonight ... +tonight ... the pilgrimage of the sixth month!" + +With her clenched fingers she had seized the tunic of the missionary, +who was trying to calm her; panting, mad with terror, her bloodshot +eyes fixed on the sunlit square, she clutched the black cloth. + +"No ... no ... I will not go! You can try and take me, I won't go!... +Off with you! Off with you! or I will kill you with my nails ... +with my teeth.... Not me ... not me.... You already have the white +officer--the sahib with the two stripes." + +Wanda, flinging herself on the woman, shook her wildly: + +"The white officer? What white officer? Speak ... speak...." + +Father Ravennes and Lursac looked at each other, their faces suddenly +pale. The missionary, pulling the young woman away, leant over the +Stieng. He took her hands and looked into her eyes. The gaze of the +savage meeting that of the priest became fixed; her lids fluttered. The +priest bent still closer to her, bringing his face down till it almost +touched that of the girl. They remained thus for a moment. + +In a calm decided tone the missionary asked: + +"Do you mean the sahib with two stripes? Is it the one who was here, +and who set out towards the north three months ago?" + +The woman started and shivered. Her lips moved, but she remained +silent. The look of the priest became more insistent. With all his will +power concentrated, he dominated her. + +"Speak!" he said. "Is it he?" + +She attempted to answer. The effort she made convulsed her face: deep +vertical wrinkles came in her forehead; but she was unable to speak. +She simply made an affirmative sign. + +Wanda cried: + +"Michael!" + +"Be quiet!" said the priest. "Let me manage this!" + +He had not let his eyes wander for an instant from those of the woman. + +"And it was the sorceresses who took him prisoner? Yes, very well. A +long time ago? Two weeks--less? Yes! You know where they have taken him +to? No? You are sure you don't know?" + +The woman twisted herself in agony and shook her head several times. +And as the missionary drew back and let go her hand, she started up +from her couch with a bound, dashing into the middle of the room, +where, erect, with a red foam on her lips, she seemed to be struggling +with some invisible presence. She gasped: + +"There! ... there! ... Jieng! She has come back again ... she ... she's +taking me! ... she's taking me away! No! ... no! ... I won't go!" + +She made several steps as if fighting against the vision which had once +more got her in its power, and her voice rose to a shriek as she called: + +"Father ... Father...." + +Then, suddenly crumpling up, she rolled over on the mat and lay +motionless, her face crushed into the ground and the right arm +stretched out, while she continued to mutter in a hoarse whisper: + +"Jieng! ... Jieng!..." + +The missionary and Lursac, who had run to her immediately, picked her +up and laid her back on the bench. + +Standing motionless at her side, Wanda watched her. + +"Jieng!... Always Jieng!..." she murmured meaningly. + +Father Ravennes twisted his beard and flung a glance at Lursac. + +"Do you remember," said he, sarcastically, "what you said to me hardly +an hour ago: 'When I think that we took her for this mysterious and +maleficent power which holds the countryside in terror. Ah! what an +idea!'" + +Lursac and Wanda turned aside their heads. + +"However," said Lursac, "we saw her just the same, bent with age and in +agony...." + +"In agony?" quoted the missionary, "are you so certain of that? But +that is not the question; we must get to work preparing the expedition +at once." + +Turning to the young man, Wanda begged: + +"Yes. Start at once ... immediately, Pierre. Tomorrow go to help him! +Set him free!" + +The missionary did not let her continue. + +"Tomorrow? No chance of that!... It will take at least from eight to +ten days to get together the necessary provisions, supplies, prepare +the baggage and organize the escort...." + +The girl cried out: + +"But between this time and that they will have killed him, tortured +him!" + +Father Ravennes shook his head. + +"I think not," said he. "This is war beginning. For the third time +the people of the forest, led by their sorceresses, have made up +their minds to arrest the advance of the white man, to push back the +conquerors whose presence annoys them and whose knowledge perhaps +renders them uncomfortable. Redeski has been taken as a hostage...." + +Wanda, lifting towards him a face tortured with fear, repeated: + +"They will kill him ... kill him.... You must start at once!" + +The priest looked at her almost coldly. + +"Above everything," he said, "we must succeed in our attempt and for +that it will be necessary to make plans and act with prudence...." + +Pierre interrupted with a violent gesture: + +"Come! come!" he complained, "plans and prudence! That is doing too +much honor to this mob of thieves and bandits! I intend simply to +follow Redeski by his tracks, and every time that I meet this rabble I +shall fall upon them suddenly and sweep them aside with our rifles and +revolvers." + +Father Ravennes shook his head thoughtfully: + +"That would be simply inviting failure! What is the good of deceiving +ourselves? We are face to face with a religious organization whose +full power, I am afraid, we thoroughly underestimate and whose aims we +are entirely ignorant of; but there is no doubt that its innumerable +ramifications cover the whole of Laos in a formidable network. Think +the matter over. To deliver Redeski would be a matter of force and +boldness, but simple enough, if it were not for that. But as it is, +you will be obliged to penetrate to the heart of this forbidden region +against the will of this unknown organization, and in doing so it +stands to reason that you will discover its secrets. Think of it well, +Lursac; this is that great mystery which for centuries has dominated +this entire country, and you are going to challenge it; and its people +of the forest and their sorceresses will rise and fight against you +to defend their beliefs and this power which they have decided we +must at any cost know nothing of. Now do you understand what you have +undertaken?" + +Silence fell, and lasted some moments. Then the young girl going +towards the bay leant against the side of it and stayed there +motionless. Her glance, passing by the plain and the canal, fixed +itself on the mountain-chain, towering above which the crest of the +Pou-Kas traced a clear line against the sky. + +"So," said she without turning round, "Pierre will not be able to start +before eight or ten days? I...." + +She broke off. + +"Not earlier than that," said the priest, "you...?" + +"Nothing, ..." said she. + +But her eyes continued to search the distant flank of the mountain +and to look for the village where she had met Jieng two evenings +ago. Thinking of the rendezvous which she had arranged for this very +evening, she brusquely asked: + +"What time is it?" + +"Six o'clock," said Pierre. + +The girl turned towards the two men. + +"Au revoir," said she, "I feel very tired!" And she made as if to go. + +"I'll go with you," said Pierre. + +She stopped in the doorway. + +"No," said she, "you must discuss the details of your expedition with +Father Ravennes ... your line of march." + +He agreed: + +"You are right. I'll rejoin you in about two hours." + +She repeated slowly, as if making a calculation: + +"Two hours. Very well...." + +She looked at him with a troubled expression, but her voice was +perfectly firm. + +"In two hours," said she. "All right, I shall expect you." + +And she went out quickly. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + A DESPERATE ADVENTURE + + +In the village square, along which the banana trees threw their shadows +in a regular pattern, Wanda stopped. Looking round her, she examined +the village. Behind their mud walls the cabins appeared silent and +lifeless ... the quiet wrapped them round and seemed to stifle them +with its great weight. Wanda stood in doubt. From these huts carefully +closed and shuttered and about which the dusk was already creeping, +from this deserted square, from all this silence and this stillness of +people and things she drew a peculiar impression of doubt and hostility. + +In spite of herself, the feeling possessed Wanda. She stood motionless, +unable to make up her mind. For a moment she hesitated between the +temptation of keeping the appointment which Jieng, with her reticent +half-finished sentence, had practically promised her, and the +sensation, every moment more strong, that danger was about her. + +The day slowly faded. Driven by the breeze, the last of the clouds were +moving overhead in piled up fleecy rolls which the sun here and there +fringed with scarlet. + +From the forest round about the discordant cries of a peacock shrilled +like a trumpet, and the sounds of the night began to make themselves +heard: the sweet and tremulous calling of a pair of wood pigeons, the +ringing call of a wild cock, and the sharp whistlings of the mandarin +birds.... + +The image of Michael, imprisoned by the sorceress, came imploringly to +the mind of the young girl. + +Immediately making a decision, she walked straight to the hut of the +priestess. As she came near it, the door opened and Jieng appeared. The +crimson light of the flame from the hearth at the back of the cabin +showed her in clear silhouette. Watchfully, she stood regarding the +young girl. Wanda greeted her. + +"You see, Jieng, I am punctual." + +She spoke in Banhar, slowly, and picking her words. + +The sorceress bent her head slightly. + +"I expected you," she said, simply; and she drew aside to let the +stranger enter. + +Keeping their eyes on each other, they sat down on the bench side by +side.... + +There was silence for several seconds. Then, resolutely, Wanda began +the contest. + +"I have come alone," said she, "alone, as I said I would." + +Jieng looked up. + +"So I see," said she. + +And putting aside all the ambiguity and roundabout phrases of the +native tongue, she asked: + +"What do you want to know?" + +The directness of the question surprised Wanda, bewildered her. She +remained silent; and it was the sorceress who continued: + +"Was it that that astonished you?" + +And stretching out her hand she pointed to the altar with its +prehistoric arms, its bones and its shining skull. + +"Yes, that," said Wanda quickly, "and also the pilgrimage of the women +every season...." + +She stopped speaking, feeling that the moment had not yet come to +reveal the principal object of her visit. + +With a sidelong glance, Jieng watched her. + +"That only?" she asked. + +"Yes," said Wanda. "Where do they go, and why do they have these +meetings?" + +Jieng broke into a fit of coughing. + +"They go to pray," said she finally, "to the gods who protect husbands +and mothers." + +She spoke quickly, without hesitation, in a clear voice. + +"Ah!" said Wanda, "and these prayers, where do they take place? In a +temple?" + +Her voice, although she was still in command of it, trembled slightly +as the thought came to her that it was towards this unknown place of +pilgrimage that they must have taken Michael. + +The sorceress shrugged her shoulders. + +"What does that matter to you?" she asked. "Here, there or everywhere +are the altars of our gods, of the guardian spirits of those in whose +veins runs the blue blood of the Moïs, the free savages who live in +the mountains among the inhabitants of the forest, and whom nobody has +ever been able to enslave.... Nobody ... neither the Annamese nor the +Lao-ese nor the Siamese ... and not even you others, you white folks, +in spite of all your efforts!" + +While speaking, she had risen. With her figure supple, her chest thrown +out, her gestures full of life, she seemed a new and different being +from the suffering old woman whom Wanda remembered and of whom nothing +seemed to remain except the face wasted with wounds and the shoulders +seamed with scars. + +"Indeed," cried she, "what has it got to do with you? Our gods belong +to us as yours belong to you. Who among us tries to find out the +mysteries of your religion?" + +"Oh!" said Wanda, "some of them do! And Father Ravennes...." + +Spitting on the ground with disgust, Jieng broke in: + +"Traitors," said she, "renegades! They shall die!..." + +She stared the young girl in the face and grinned fiendishly. + +"Do you see? I am speaking frankly. I am telling you everything, even +at the risk...." + +It was Wanda's turn to interrupt. + +"Then," said she without any change of expression, "since you are +telling me everything, tell me what they have done with the lieutenant +who was in command of the Post." + +Jieng remained unmoved. She neither answered the question nor took the +trouble to make any denials. + +"He is in the hands of the gods," she said simply. + +The young girl had a feeling of foreboding. + +"By what right ..." she began. + +The sorceress, resuming her seat, stopped her. + +"By what right did he penetrate into the Dead Country, into the forest +where no man, not even if he is of our own blood, dare enter?" + +Without taking any notice of the interruption, the young girl went on: + +"He is alive, is he not?... You ... you have not...." + +Jieng smiled ironically. + +"How does this stranger interest you?" she asked. + +Wanda, seizing the priestess by the wrists, clutched convulsively. + +"He is my brother," she groaned. "Where have you taken him? Is he +alive? I must know. Do you hear? Either willing or unwilling, you shall +tell me...." + +With a sudden shake, the sorceress got free. She took a few steps about +the hut, and came up to the young girl again. With her face twisted by +an evil grin, she said: + +"Do you want to know? Do you?" + +"Yes!" cried Wanda. + +And she plunged her fingers into the pockets of her jacket. Coins +jingled, and she withdrew her hands full of money which she threw +on the bench. The money rolled in all directions on the dark wood, +scattering sparks of light. + +"I will give you all that.... But answer me...." + +Jieng took not the slightest notice. With her head drooped in thought, +she was considering. Finally, she looked the young girl straight in the +eyes. + +"I cannot tell you anything, as I have no authority ... but...." + +She held back the young girl, who had flung herself upon her. + +"But, ... this evening the pilgrimage of the sixth month takes place." + +"I know.... I know.... What then?" + +The sorceress hesitated. A flash lit her eye, which she quickly veiled +with lowered lids. + +"I suppose," said she, slowly, "that in order to learn everything that +you want, you would be willing to mingle with the women who are going +to enter the Dead Country ... and that you would follow them wherever I +lead them...." + +She made a pause; between her half-open lids a direct glance flashed +sideways on the brown eyes of the young girl. + +"That is only a supposition, you understand!" + +"Then," said Wanda, who had become very pale, "then suppose that I do +follow you...." + +A triumphant smile came and went on the priestess' face. + +"If you were to do that, I am certain that no one would prevent you ... +no one...." + +The young girl, gripping the sorceress by the shoulder, laughed: + +"No one, of course not, only there would be just one more victim on +your altar, wouldn't there?" + +Jieng did not flinch. + +"No harm would come to you," she said calmly. + +And as the young girl continued to smile ironically, she went on: + +"No one would dare to touch you ... I tell you that for a fact." + +Then repeated sarcastically: + +"A victim!" + +And she shrugged her shoulders. + +"You came, you and that white man, into my village. My warriors were +there. You were alone; there were a dozen of them. If I had wanted +victims, why should I have waited? Were you not caught there in my hut +just as surely as a wild beast in a trap?" + +Again she shrugged her shoulders scornfully and stopped speaking. + +The silence lasted some moments. Wanda thought of Michael. Her tortured +heart was stronger than her reason; she reflected rapidly: + +"I don't risk much.... I shall tell Pierre about it, he will follow my +track and will catch up with me. Meanwhile I shall get the better of +Jieng, and when he arrives...." + +She stopped thinking. She saw just the one thing: here was a chance of +reaching Michael, of seeing him, helping him, perhaps of aiding in his +escape.... She cried: + +"So be it! I will follow the women on their pilgrimage. What must I do?" + +The priestess remained deep in thought for a second, then picking up in +a businesslike way the coins scattered under the bench, she hid them in +her belt. + +"You must dress like one of our women." + +And as the young girl began to protest, she stopped her with a gesture. + +"It must be so, or you cannot come with us," she said with an air of +final authority: "Decide!" + +"Very well," said Wanda. "When do we start?" + +Jieng bent down, rummaged under the bench and drew out a tunic, a pair +of loose trousers and a turban which she handed to the young girl. + +"Here are your clothes," she said, "in ten minutes I will come for you." + +And she went off. + +Wanda called after her: + +"Can I leave a message for my friends?" + +The face of the priestess took on a peculiar expression. Wanda thought +she heard her laugh, but she had not the time to be uneasy about it. + +Jieng assented. + +"Yes," said she, "that will be better." + +And she went out, shutting the door behind her. + + * * * * * + +When Wanda emerged from the hut a few minutes later, the dusk was +falling on the mountain. A torch in her hand, Jieng was waiting for +her. The girl gave her the leaf that she had torn out of her notebook. + +"Here is a letter for Father Ravennes." + +"He shall have it tonight," promised the sorceress. + +And without another word she started off, Wanda following her. It was +warm; into the stormy looking sky swollen clouds were climbing heavily. +The dark bluish outlines of the mountain stood out solidly among the +shadows that were beginning to creep over them. On the very tip of the +crest of the Pou-Kas a last ray of sunlight spread in purplish gold, +and the shining wave-like line of light stretched further and further +until the mountain looked like the body of a great sleeping monster. + +They went on and on together, both of them silent. Above them, dull and +confusedly in a sort of scattered murmuring, the noise of human voices +gradually became audible--the subdued hubbub of a multitude. + +Still they climbed. Little by little the noise became more definite, +and finally developed into a wild recitative sung by many voices and +marked by the rhythmic bang of gongs and resounding blows on copper +tom-toms. + +It was the procession of the pilgrims, who, before entering the Dead +Country, were invoking their mysterious gods. + +Suddenly, at a curve in the path, the body of women could be seen in +a large opening. Crouched in a thin, wide semicircle, and guarded by +sorceresses, there were perhaps a hundred of them. Around them torches +stuck into the ground waved smoky flames, throwing streaks of red light +on the white-clad backs which were now all bowed in a simultaneous +obeisance: patches of heavy smoke whirled upward into the dark: the +bitter smell of burning resinous wood drifted slowly into the air: +around them stood the dark wall of the inviolate forest. + +At an order from Jieng, the women got up and took their places. They +were now silent. Above, on the mountain which the darkness now hid, a +vast silence seemed to weigh. + +A short incantation, sung in unison by all, a sharp order, and then the +procession got under way and entered the forest, where it was rapidly +swallowed up in the damp shadows of the trees. + +Left behind by herself, Wanda looked about her. The abandoned clearing +seemed suddenly increased in size by the darkness which had fallen +on it, now that the torches had been carried away. Before her, she +could feel, vast and threatening, the Pou-Kas hidden in the blackness. +Impulsively, she turned to look behind her, and far below her, in the +valley, she could pick out the lights of the Post which twinkled feebly +across the darkness. Her heart shook: thinking of Pierre, she could +imagine his anxiety on account of her absence, and for a moment her +resolution was shaken. + +A wave of tenderness compounded of weakness and sweetness flowed +through her. _He_ was there in the hollow of the plain, watching for +her return!... These lights which beckoned to her were those of the +lamps that she lighted every evening while she waited for him! Before +her eyes she saw the little round table in the dining room where the +two of them met every night at dinner-time. She could actually see the +circle of light thrown by the pink-shaded lamp which broadened and +illuminated the interested face of the young man as he talked to her. +She could even distinguish his expression and his familiar gestures. +She noticed once again the nervous knack he had of pulling his light +moustache in little jerks. Above all, there came to her his laugh,--a +clear bantering laugh which drew his lips to one side and showed a +corner of his white teeth. Then, feeling the gray eyes of the young +man full upon her, she smiled across the night to him. Her head thrown +lightly back, her face forward, she seemed gently to offer him her +lips, instinctively repeating the gesture which had become habitual, +a gesture in which mingled the lure of a caress and the flicker of a +smile and which always had a strangely intoxicating effect upon Pierre. + +But quickly shaking off her weakness, she recalled the image of +Michael, whom she was going to find and whom she would save at whatever +cost. Remembrances of her childhood, in which he was inextricably +mingled, brought to life again different moments of her past. Her +heart, captured again by the days gone by, was full of him, and +sisterly love once more dominated her. + +Her head erect, with a noble gesture of sweetness and passion, she +opened her arms and closed them again slowly as if to embrace once more +the love she was leaving down there in the hollow of the shadow-drowned +valley. + +Then with her teeth clenched she turned back, and hurried to catch +up with the troop of women who were mounting towards the mysterious +sanctuary in the heart of the Dead Country. + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + THOSE LEFT BEHIND + + +Night had taken possession of the Post. Over-flowed by the shadows, the +palisades were invisible, and the buildings ranged on the edge of the +canal formed a single confused mass along the base of which the gliding +water lapped monotonously. The dreary slopes of the Pou-Kas were lost +in night and the whole world, smothered under a sky heavy with rain, +seemed nothing but a limitless gulf. + +Leaning on the balustrade of the veranda, Pierre, who had been back for +over an hour, watched the darkness. In the court, a body of riflemen +and mahouts were working feverishly in getting ready for the coming +expedition. Somewhere or other the sound of the flute rose gently, +lulling the night. + +Turning back to the dining room, where the boy was at his work, he +asked: + +"What o'clock is it?" + +"The second watch has just struck, sahib."[10] + +[Footnote 10: The night-watches are four in number, of three hours +each, beginning at six o'clock in the evening.] + +Pierre strode nervously up and down the veranda. The silence deepened. +Finally, not being able to stand it, he asked: + +"About how long ago did Mademoiselle go out?" + +The boy, a rough Méo with thick hands and a bony face, whom the priest +had engaged for the young people, stopped in the doorway. + +"She came just before they sounded the first night-watch, and she +started out again immediately." + +Pierre stepped up to him quickly. + +"What! She said something, and you didn't tell me?..." + +The Méo fixed his expressionless eyes on Lursac. + +"The sahib did not...." + +"Idiot!" cried Pierre. "What did she say? Tell me quickly!" + +Flurried, and his broad forehead wrinkled in a frown, the other +murmured: + +"Mademoiselle said, 'If the gentleman asks for news, you will tell him +that I have returned to the house of the Cross.'" + +Lursac drew himself up abruptly. + +"To the Mission?" said he, in surprise. "How strange that we didn't +cross each other on the way!" + +He reflected for a moment. + +"What horse did she take?" + +The boy bent his head and looked up at him. + +"She went on foot." + +Pierre remarked his hesitating and uncomfortable expression. + +"On foot? To go seven miles? What sort of nonsense are you telling me?" + +He grasped the man by the shoulder and shook him. + +"You know something! Where has she gone?" + +The Méo opened his large hands and spread out his arms: + +"I don't know anything, sahib ... I swear. Only what Mademoiselle told +me to tell you and that she started on foot.... That's all. Yes, really +and truthfully." + +"Ah!" said Pierre. + +And in spite of himself his voice trembled. Understanding that he +would get nothing more out of him, he flung the boy from him. A vague +distress had taken possession of him. He went to the balustrade of the +veranda again. + +The flute was now silent. A slant of wind went whirling into the +darkness, a hoarse call sounded from somewhere.... The minutes crawled +by.... + +Anxiously, with his face stretched towards the forest, Pierre searched +the night with his glance. The noises of the mountain reached him, +distinct, and apparently nearer. The same hoarse cry rose again on +the slope of the mountain and, echoing back from the river, died away +slowly. Then other cries arose, multiplied and mixed in the depths of +the underwoods. And almost immediately from one slope to the other +of the mountain the people of the forest awoke and took up the rough +discordant song, the wild song of the free forest. The coughing of +hunting tigers mingled with the snarling of panthers; the sudden +trumpeting of a herd of elephants crashing through the silence filled +with its sonorous flourishes of sound the shadows already heavy with +the distressed bellowing of a stag at bay and the screeching cry of a +pair of nocturnal birds of prey wheeling over the plain. + +Thick, heavy clouds had accumulated overhead, rolling up in billows +like a stormy sea. A few warm, heavy drops fell and drummed on the dry +rustling straw of the hut roofs. Then suddenly, like a waterfall, the +rain beat down in a roar. Lursac shuddered. + +"No," he murmured to himself, "she is not at the Mission. However," he +at once thought, "she told the boy that she was going there and I have +never yet known her to say anything that was not true. Perhaps, as I +was late in coming back, she wanted to know the arrangements we had +made...." + +Buoyed up by this hope, he thought: + +"Yes.... It must be that. But why on foot? Why?" + +His anxiety suddenly greater, he burst out: + +"I cannot wait any longer, I must know. Whatever it is, I am going over +there." + +Turning round, he cried to the boy: + +"Sao! I am going to the priest's house. If Mademoiselle comes in while +I am gone, send someone at once to tell me." + +And in a few strides he was down the steps. + +Before the quarters of the riflemen he stopped for a moment to give +orders to the corporal: + +"Have the gate opened and the sampan ready to cross the canal; I am +going to the Mission." + +And he made rapidly towards the stables. + + * * * * * + +Through the rain which fell continuously the pony galloped, with his +hoofs splashing into the spongy soil of the plain and the mud squirting +up at every step. + +Regardless of the water which whipped his face in the squalls, with his +eyes intent on piercing the darkness, Pierre pushed his mount brutally, +and the poor animal was gasping, his breath coming heavily and his legs +laboring, while a bitter smell of sweat mounted from his skin. + +Then suddenly a blackness still blacker than the surrounding dark +showed where the stockades of the Mission stood. They took shape, +framing the narrow entrance-gate defended by its heavy door of solid +wood reënforced with beams. + +Down off his horse in an instant, Pierre called out. Minutes, which +seemed appallingly long, went by. Then the door grated halfway open, +and the young man, violently pushing to one side the convert who had +come to admit him, dashed forward and ran. He crossed the court, which +was now wrapped in sleep, and strode up the steps leading to the +missionary's cabin. Suddenly, as he reached the veranda a hope relaxed +the tension. His heart beat more naturally and more calmly. Through the +chinks of the door rays of light filtered out. + +"She is there: they are still talking," he sighed. + +He grasped the latch, but instantly his agony returned, for the door +opened, and in the doorway, with a lamp in his hand, stood Father +Ravennes. He was completely dressed, and wrapped in a waterproof cloak. + +"Who is there?" + +He raised his lamp so that the light fell upon Pierre and quickly came +towards him. + +"Lursac! Great Heavens! What a state you are in! I was this very minute +coming to the Post.... You know, then?" + +In a hoarse voice, Pierre cried: + +"Wanda? Where is Wanda?" + +The priest looked at him. He saw the tortured face of the young man, +his eyes shining with distress, his soaked and muddy clothes. His voice +softened: + +"Come in," said he, "come in.... I want to speak to you." + +He took Pierre by the arm and drew him into the room. Flinging himself +on the only stool, Lursac drooped his head and closed his eyes. + +The priest had put the lamp on the table. He came up to Pierre and +thoughtfully looked the young man over. + +A long silence fell while each followed his own thoughts. Then Pierre, +raising his eyes to the missionary, asked: + +"You ... you have not seen her, have you?" + +His voice trembled and seemed ready to break at any minute. He stopped. + +The priest looked down on him slowly. Finally, he shook his head. + +"No, but she has written to me." + +He rummaged in his pocket and stretched out a leaf of paper to the +young man. + +"Here!" he said. "Read it!" + +Pierre sat up suddenly; a spasm passed over his face. In a voice +suddenly changed, he asked: + +"She has written to you?... To _you_?... Why?" + +"Read it!" repeated the priest, gently. + +Snatching the letter from the hand of the missionary, Pierre read: + +"_Dear Father: I dare not write to Pierre. I have seen Jieng.... The +pilgrimage of the sixth month starts this evening for its mysterious +meeting place, the location of which I do not know. I only know that +Michael is alive. I have managed to join the women who are going and +I have not courage enough to wait for Pierre's expedition. Anyway, he +would have refused to take me! Tell him; and both of you pardon me the +anxiety which I am going to cause you.... WANDA._" + +Pierre blanched. He cried out: + +"They have enticed her into an ambush ... she is lost! ... lost!..." + +His heart seemed to break. He raised his drawn face to the priest. + +"Ah! you don't know; I love her.... I love her.... We've been engaged +for two days ... a secret engagement ... and I have held her in my +arms, and still upon my lips is the very imprint of...." + +The missionary took his hands: + +"My poor boy," said he, "I understand your agony, but nothing is +lost. I have sent one of my men, the one I can trust best, to Jieng's +village. He has orders to pick up Mademoiselle Redeski's track and to +note carefully any signs which may serve to make our search easy. Wait +for him...." + +"Ah!" said he, "we are losing time! And Wanda...." + +The priest leant from the window to listen to the multiple voices which +the silence of the night carried. + +"No," replied he, "we can do nothing before dawn." + +And he repeated: + +"Let us wait." + +Slowly the minutes drifted away, one by one, long and mournful. +Minutes, hours, a portion of the night.... Pierre kept no count. He +strode up and down the narrow room. On the mats his feverish footsteps +rustled dryly. From time to time, tired, with his mind empty, he stood +still and listened. Through the open window the continuous noise of +the rain penetrated into the room and filled it with an all-pervading +whisper in the midst of which the splashing of a stream of water from +the roof mingled its own special sad and haunting note. Again he set +himself to pacing up and down between the lowly folding bed and the +bare wall, in the middle of which shone the only ornament of the +chamber, a great ivory crucifix, pale and suggestive. + +The third night-watch struck, and then the fourth, and still the time +drifted away. + +Rigid, in the same position, his breast supported by the window ledge, +Father Ravennes stood silent and thoughtful. Finally drawing himself +up, he said: + +"Here he is...." + +Pierre rushed to the door and flung it open. + +"Well?" cried he. + +Muddy, drenched with rain, his features drawn with fatigue, the man +entered, speechless. + +Under his arm he held a parcel which he spread out on the ground. +Clothing unrolled from it and a woman's boot fell against the foot of +the bed. + +Pierre gave a cry. + +"Wanda's clothes!" + +"Yes," said the man, "which I found in Jieng's hut, hidden under the +sleeping bench; that's all I found!" + +He leaned, panting, against the wall. + +"And she? She? ..." asked Pierre. + +"No trace, sahib. After searching all the huts in the village, +nothing.... Then I ran into the forest, I called, I shouted, I +looked...." + +He lifted up his bleeding hands and showed his body torn with +scratches, and repeated: + +"Nothing.... They must have taken her into the Dead Country." + +The priest looked at him steadily. + +"Listen," said he, slowly, "we are going to start tomorrow. You and +Pâa, you are the only ones in whom I put my trust, the only ones also +who know the country. You will come with us as guides." + +The man shivered: his face went gray. + +"Men," he whispered, "do not go into the Dead Country." + +The missionary, taking him sternly by the arm, fixed his eyes upon the +man's. + +"You will come with me," said he, yet more sternly. + +The savage bowed his head. + +"With you ... very well, Father!" + +Father Ravennes patted his shoulder in a friendly way: + +"That's right," said he, "I knew it ... good!... Go and get ready." + +He went back to Pierre. + +"We will save her, Lursac; her and Redeski." + +The young man bent his head despairingly. + +"Remember Odend'hal, Robert, Paris and the others: Longères ... +Dorcel...." + +Heavily he lapsed into silence. Before his eyes the tragic victims of +Indo-China's history rose, one by one: Odend'hal, enticed into the +hut of the Fire King, the mysterious and all-powerful chief of the +sorcerers, and treacherously beaten to death with bludgeons and then +burnt; Robert, attacked at his post in broad daylight and assassinated, +with twenty-four wounds in his body; Longères, who had disappeared in +this very place, disappeared without anyone ever having succeeded in +finding out what had become of him; and, finally, Dorcel, brought back +to Saigon in agony, and who died of an unknown disease without even +having regained consciousness. + +He shuddered. It seemed to him at that moment that the universal terror +which lay upon this whole region was beating on the Mission, that it +found its way into the room in which the two of them stood--the only +ones of their race--alone in the middle of the immense Lao-ese forest +in which prowled invisible powers and unknown rulers. + +"We will find her," repeated the missionary insistently. + +Pierre raised his head. + +"Yes," said he, "but how? We are two--two against a whole people. And +then, where have they taken her? We have no idea whatever! What shall +we do? Search the whole mountain range? Beat the entire forest?" + +He gave a gesture of despair. + +Motionless, Father Ravennes considered. Suddenly an idea flashed into +his mind. He stepped up to the young man and with his two hands on +Pierre's shoulders, he spoke: + +"Come, Lursac, pull yourself together. You must keep your self-control +above everything. We will find your fiancée! Listen: what we have got +to do is to reach this sanctuary to which the pilgrimages are made." + +His voice sounded calm and solemn. The atmosphere of anguish which had +filled the chamber seemed put to flight. A feeling of certainty and +tranquil force took its place, relaxing Lursac's nerves and restoring +his balance. Almost calm, he answered: + +"Yes, but where are we to look for the sanctuary? Do you know?" + +"No," admitted the missionary, "but that is what we are going to find +out. Come." + +He went out. Almost persuaded, Lursac followed him. Together they +crossed the court towards the huts of the converts, the pointed roofs +of which could be seen over the dark mass of the chapel. + +It was no longer raining. From the thatched roofs, still wet, and from +the bending trees the moisture continued to drip. And under the vast +silence of the heavens, across which the clouds were still driving +in wandering squadrons, there was no sound heard now but the sharp, +distant noise of the dripping on the earth. + +Before the door of a hut marked with a white cross the priest stopped +and banged on it with his fist. The wood of the door rattled, and +while a voice from inside began asking questions, he entered, Lursac +following him. He pushed back the door and lighted a torch. On the +sleeping bench set against the wall a woman was sitting up, bending +forward, half-dressed. + +Pierre seized the arm of the missionary, gripping it strongly. + +"The wild Stieng woman whom you saved," said he; "I understand now." + +And he looked at the young woman with anxiety. Would she know anything, +and could she be made to speak? + +Father Ravennes sat down. With a gentle movement he took the hands +of the woman. She raised her head. Her face, which the flickering +torch brought into relief with purple shadows, appeared young and +almost pretty, in spite of the short and flattened nose, and of the +small suspicious eyes deeply sunk under a rounded forehead. The thin, +clearly cut lips trembled, giving to the whole face an air of knowing +intelligence, an appearance strangely mobile and alive, almost feline. + +The missionary riveted on her his grave, compelling eyes. + +"Listen," said he. "When I found you this morning by the gate, dying, +tortured with hunger and thirst, half mad with terror, I didn't ask +whence you came or who you were; I didn't question you at all. I took +you in and took care of you and protected you without thinking of the +hatred and the vengeance that my action might bring on me." + +He stopped a moment and looked at her still harder. He spoke slowly +in the Banhar dialect, while Lursac standing beside him watched the +woman's face for the effect of his words. She listened to the priest +attentively, trying to understand all his meaning. + +After a moment, looking down, she said simply: + +"I know your goodness, Father!" + +Then with a note of supplication in her voice she asked: + +"You will keep me with you?" + +The missionary promised: + +"Whatever happens you shall stay here as long as you wish. But in my +turn, today I have need of your help. Will you give it?" + +"What can I do?" she asked. + +"Answer the questions I am going to put to you. Answer them without +evasion and without trickery, freely and loyally." + +And he repeated sternly the question which she had avoided a few +seconds earlier. + +"Will you?" + +She shut her eyes and bent her head. + +"Yes," said she. "What I know I will tell you truly." + +Father Ravennes sighed heavily: his face relaxed. He threw a glance +sideways at Lursac. For several moments he did not speak, concentrating +his thoughts; then forcing the young woman to look at him he asked: + +"It was this evening that the pilgrimage of the sixth month began, was +it not?" + +She shivered, turning away her eyes and slowly made a sign in the +affirmative with her head. + +"Good!" said the priest. "Where was it to start from?" + +In a very low voice she said: + +"From the third clearing above the village. From there...." + +"From there?" + +She got up suddenly, a look of distress on her face and an air of +listening. + +"From there?" insisted Father Revenues. + +She stood rigid in the middle of the room. + +"I cannot ... I cannot," she murmured. "If they knew that I had told +you this they would kill me." + +"Come now," growled the priest, "no pretences, please. No one will know +what you are saying. We are alone with you.... Speak." + +She broke out wildly. + +"I don't want to die, and they are all round us. Listen! You can hear +them walking, quite close to us! No, I am not lying. Come, look for +yourself." + +As she spoke, she had taken the priest by the hand and was pulling him +towards the door. Violently she pushed the heavy slab, which slammed +back against the wall. A fresh smell of wet earth and damp herbage blew +into the room. Standing on the threshold of the hut the missionary +shot a quick glance around him. The dawn was already on its way. In +the clean-washed sky the innumerable stars were beginning to pale and +disappear. The rising light was slowly putting the dark to flight; +and before the advance of the morning which trembled on the horizon, +the night was thinning out and melting into a river of shadows in the +middle of which the Mission buildings stood up with vague, uncertain +outlines. Round the angle of the chapel, close by, a human shadow +glided, fled away and disappeared. + +With her finger the young woman pointed it out to the priest. + +"You see!" she cried. + +And shutting the door again, she re-seated herself on the sleeping +bench and remained motionless. + +"Ask me anything," she said, "except what I cannot tell you, the thing +that they have forbidden me to speak." + +Angrily, Lursac demanded: + +"They? What they? Of whom do you speak?" + +She listened to him with eyes full of fear. A shudder ran through her +body. + +"They.... The Red Gods! ..." she whispered. + + * * * * * + +The two men looked at each other. The flickering flame of the torch lit +up their pale faces twisted anew with anguish. For the first time the +names of the unknown gods whom the mysterious sorcerers served had been +pronounced, and before their eyes swam blood-stained visions. + +The torch, burned down to its socket, began to splutter and a heavy +smoke filled the room with an acrid fog, and suddenly with a last leap +of flame it expired. Cold and livid, the dawn filtered into the hut. + +Pierre thought of Wanda. Beside him the missionary repeated feverishly: + +"The Red Gods!... The Red...." + +Shaken with a frightful shudder the young man looked at him, and once +again despair seized him in its grip. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + THE FUGITIVE'S STORY + + +Shrugging his shoulders, Father Ravennes took some strides about the +hut. Suddenly stopping before the young woman he took her by the arm +and forced her to stand up. + +"Follow me," said he. + +And he pushed her outside, led her to the chapel and opened the door. + +"Come in!" + +He pushed her before him, stood aside to let Pierre pass, and then +entering in his turn into the sanctuary he carefully bolted the heavy +door. + +Through the blinds a vague light stole in. The Stieng woman looked +round her with curiosity. She saw the pale walls with their cheap +copies of the Way of the Cross, each of the colored chromos framed with +a simple casing of black wood. Then she saw the painted roof of thatch +with its confusion of unsquared beams, and below it, in front of her, +slightly raised on a few shallow steps, the altar--modest and simple, +and on which all the light of the glowing dawn seemed to concentrate +itself between the groups of candles. In the centre, dominating the +tabernacle, a large Christ on the Cross twisted his body in agony. + +Father Ravennes made the young woman sit down on the altar steps. + +"You are afraid," said he, "that somebody will overhear your words, but +here no one can hear us. See for yourself. The chapel is too large for +your voice to be heard outside." + +He raised his hand, pointing to the crucifix above them. His voice, at +once grave and ardent, continued: + +"And there is our God--the omnipotent and merciful God of the white +people, whose sovereign power directs the world. We are all in His +keeping, and if I have brought you here into His very shadow it is +that He may protect you and preserve you. Now if He wills it, you will +speak. May His will be done!..." + +He stopped speaking and closed his eyes. The heavy silence of +expectation bent their heads. The lips of Father Ravennes moved slowly +in words that were inaudible: he was praying. + +The woman with a sudden shrug of the shoulders seemed to fling off a +burden. + +"I believe you," said she. "I will tell you everything that I know, +everything that happened to myself. Is that what you wish?" + +The missionary opened his eyes, now animated by a strange expression of +thankfulness and joy. + +"Yes," said he. + +And in a low voice he murmured: + +"Thy goodness be praised, O God!" + +Already the woman was talking. + +"My name is Hmon, of the village of Khon-Ko-Xan, of the country of the +Stiengs, where I am a free woman among the free people of the forest. +Four years ago my parents married me to the chief of the village. Our +first two years were happy ones. Then little by little hatred came to +us and took up its abode in our hut. It was because, in spite of all +my prayers and all my sacrifices to the gods, I had given no child to +my husband. Then one afternoon at the men's council I was named with +a group of other childless wives to take part in the great pilgrimage +which twice a year goes up into the Dead Country to pray to the Red +Gods. + +"There were eight of us women, and three men fully accoutred for war +were to accompany us. And the very same evening we started on our +journey. The seventh night after our departure, at the hour of the +second watch, we arrived at the threshold of the Sacred Forest.... At +its very threshold indeed, sahib!..." + +She fell silent as a shudder ran through her. Father Ravennes took hold +of her hand. + +"Continue," said he softly. + +She gave one look at the missionary and then in little, short, +disconnected sentences she continued: + +"The priestesses took charge of the group which had come up from the +entire country. They arranged us in ranks, and counted us one by one. +Then, having sent off the men, they showed us the way towards the +mountain. + +"After five hours of marching we reached the clearing, the meeting +place. Jieng, the chief sorceress, was waiting for us there. After a +short stop we took to the track again. Four times the sun, towards +which we were advancing, rose and set, and at the beginning of the +fifth night as the moon was rising and getting larger and larger, we at +last caught sight of the temple hanging on the very edge of the crest +of the Pou-Kas." + +The missionary grasped Lursac's wrist. + +"The temple ... on the very edge of the crest of the Pou-Kas," he +whispered. + +The woman did not hear him. She continued: + +"When it was perfectly dark they made us enter. Between the two high +centre towers there was a long gallery two stories high; then a huge +interior court, square, and paved with ancient stones. Around the whole +ran a platform reached by four wide staircases. Between these stairs +against the wall below the platform were ranged statues of warriors and +priests, of horses and elephants in war-harness, keeping guard. Between +the stones of the courtyard banyan trees were growing. The air sang +among their branches, but our hearts were bowed in agony. It was warm. +Above our heads, in the small area of sky that we could see, flowed the +night, the same night which we knew at home. We had seated ourselves. +I heard the creaking of an insect close by me. In this way an hour +passed, and then from the building opposite to the entrance gallery of +which the walls seemed built right into the cliff of the Pou-Kas, a +chant arose, sahib. + +"At the same moment Jieng appeared and cried: + +"'Those from the village of Dong-Track, in the land of the Reungaos....' + +"Five women arose and she made them enter the temple. + +"More time passed, and again Jieng returned and called out: + +"'Those from the village of the Xieng-Khon in the land of the +Sedangs....' + +"And only three women came forward, who in their turn penetrated into +the sanctuary. + +"From time to time she came and called thus. And all the women of the +Moï, all the wives from the free clans of the mountain and forest were +taken into the palace of the gods, to whom they were going to pray that +their sterile bodies might bear fruit. + +"'Those from the village of Khon-Ko-Xan in the land of the Stiengs.' + +"Our moment had come. I took the lead. When I reached Jieng, I bowed +to the ground humbly, like the others, and entered. We crossed a long +narrow room with thick walls entirely covered with carvings. Before us +a curving subterranean passageway led down. Its sweating walls were +lighted by braziers on heavy copper tripods. While we went forward the +chant came nearer. We walked on for some time. Finally after a sharp +turn we came out into a round room, the floor of which was hollowed +out into a large basin. Eight sorceresses with torches in their hands +were waiting for us ranged round the sides of the room. After we had +been dipped in the waters of the basin they took charge of us. First of +all they put on us black tunics and then covered our faces with sacred +masks, the soft moist skin of which was cut with four openings for the +eyes, the mouth, and the nose. Then escorting us they opened a door and +drew us through. The chant which had been still going on all this time +suddenly burst louder on our ears, and we understood that we were in +the sanctuary in which was enthroned the image of the gods we had come +to implore. + +"With my throat grown dry, and trembling to the tips of my fingers +I looked round me. On my right, an enormous serpent with nine heads +supported a heavy column. A little further, an animal with the body of +a dragon and the head of a bird appeared to be flapping its wings; and +as far as I could see on both sides other pillars spread upward towards +the roof, invisible in the shadows.... But I had not time to look about +me any longer; a push forced me forward. + +"We were going on. Under every monster a sorceress stood with a torch +to light our way. There were some sixty sorceresses on the right and +on the left, while we marched between them. Their faces slashed with +wounds, their eyes fixed in front of them, they stared at us as we +passed. They made no movement, but sang without stopping. Now we had +come to the foot of the altar. We had come to the end of the columns, +the sanctuary grew nearer. Before us were three wide semi-circular +recesses, each led up to by three steps; each recess was hidden by a +transparent veil embroidered with silver under which we had to creep +after we had made obeisance on our faces. When the last curtain was +passed I saw at last the statue of the god. He was sitting with his +legs folded under him. His swelling chest was covered with a brown fur, +his red body sparkled and his beautiful face smiled strangely. From his +shoulders hung twelve arms with great open hands, the palms turned flat +towards the earth in a sweeping gesture of blessing. + +"Then behind us the voice of Jieng ordered: + +"'Go, and each one of you place her head under one of the hands of the +God of wives' + +"We drew near with our heads bowed. I was on the right, under the +fourth hand. Slowly I drew myself up until my forehead felt the weight +of the cold hard palm. I stammered the words of the ritual: + +"'O God of barren women, give life to my body!' + +"Beside me seven other voices repeated continuously: + +"'O God of barren women, give life to my body!' + +"On my throbbing temples I felt the metal fingers which seemed to get +heavier and heavier. A sweet perfume, floating about me, took me by the +throat and rendered me dizzy. + +"I fell, and night flowed into me." + +Again she stopped. Father Ravennes asked: + +"Is that all?..." + +The woman shook her head. + +"No," said she, "or I should not be here. When I woke up I found myself +in the same place lying on the stone floor. I looked up. Above me the +red hands were still outstretched. Nothing had changed; except that the +sorceresses still standing at their posts were no longer singing. There +was a great silence, peaceful and satisfying. The voice of Jieng once +more rose: + +"'Go,' said she. 'The Red Gods will lend a favorable ear to your +prayers.' + +"I got up. My head was heavy and a great feeling of tiredness possessed +my whole being. In the chamber of ablutions I took off my mask and put +on my usual clothes. Outside I found a surprise. The sun was setting on +the horizon. I had been more than four watches at the feet of the gods. + +"Ten days afterwards I was back in my village, and once again the god +of happiness took up his abode in our house. I waited with confidence, +knowing that the gods had worked innumerable miracles. But a year went +by without my hope being realized. For the second time I returned to +the Dead Country and bent under the image of the god. Again, eleven +months during which anger and hatred were my portion continually. + +"Three weeks ago, considering me incapable of giving him a child, my +husband called the council of chiefs together. My case, unique in our +clan, was discussed and I learned that the men's meeting had decided +to make a gift of me to the Red Gods. The morning after, a sorceress +came to talk with my husband. The same evening she took me away, after +having announced to the clan the capture of the sahib of the two +stripes, who was in command of the Post here. + +"Fear took possession of me. I became nothing more than a trembling +body without will. Continually I recalled the laws of the Dead Country, +the laws of the sorceresses. I remembered that only ugliness is +pleasing to the Red Gods, and that all those who are set aside to serve +them must be tortured and disfigured. I thought of Reung, whose arms +are now only stumps; of Saond, whose leg, broken and destroyed, drags +along behind her like a hanging rag; and finally of Jieng, with her +dead eye, her cut-about lips and her flayed nose. + +"All the tortures that I would have to undergo came before me, +surrounded me, and seemed to squeeze my brain. I was almost insane, +sahibs, and one morning at dawn I fled. For ten days I wandered into +the forest, tracked by the priestesses and pursued by all the clans of +the forest; and I arrived here the very morning of the pilgrimage of +the sixth month, this pilgrimage on which I was to have been taken to +the Dead Country in order to have been consecrated as a sorceress." + +She turned towards the priest a face in which there was reflected a +shadow of the fear which she had just recalled, and with a long look at +him she said: + +"They told me you were kind, O Father, and I came to you. You received +me and took care of me, and my heart--the heart of a free woman of the +forest--will not forget. I have told you everything that I know. Truly, +I have told you everything. Have I told you what you wanted?" + +And as with a gentle motion of his head the missionary answered in the +affirmative, she added with a strange cry, pointing to the crucifix: + +"May He guard me, as I know that death is round about me! But what does +it matter? You have saved me; in my turn I have done you a service. As +for the rest we are in the hands of the gods." + +The two men had risen. + +"Yes," said Father Ravennes, "I know that you have told me everything, +without concealing anything and without lying, as I asked you. I thank +you. Now go!" + +And as she went Lursac said: + +"We now know what we wanted to. It is towards the Pou-Kas that we must +bend our steps. The pilgrimage has only about twelve hours' start of +us, and it is composed of women. If we travel night and day we shall +perhaps be able to catch up with them...." + +The missionary looked at him. + +"Catch up with them? ... but we shall not be able to make one hour's +march towards the Pou-Kas without their being warned of it. And when +we arrive before the sanctuary either we shall find it abandoned or we +shall have to fling ourselves against defences thoroughly prepared and +against which all our efforts will be useless. We shall be lucky indeed +if they do not have us massacred on the way there. No! Will you put +your trust in me?" + +Together they left the chapel. Around them, under a sky like a blue +crystal basin, everything still slept. + +In the air, growing every moment more beautifully transparent, the +whistling of the blackbirds quarrelling on the stockades broke the +silence. + +"When do we start?" demanded Lursac sharply. + +Father Ravennes calculated: + +"Allow one hour for you to get back to the fort and two hours to +make our preparations. Take only what is indispensable. Twenty days' +provisions per man. We must march swiftly. As few cases and packages +as possible, and no more men than we really need: the six elephants +with their mahouts to carry our outfit, and fifteen riflemen with the +corporal. Above all, on no account tell them where we are going." + +He stretched his hands to Pierre. A short grasp brought them together +for an instant, mingled their emotions and made their hearts beat in +harmony. + +The missionary released his fingers almost roughly. + +"Start, start," said he, "I will join you there in three hours." + +And while the young man hurried towards the gate, he made off with +great strides in the direction of his cabin. + +In the middle of the court he stopped suddenly, wrinkling his brow +thoughtfully. From the other side of the palisade came the sound of the +galloping of Lursac's pony, rapidly fading into the distance. + +Mechanically the priest listened until he could no longer hear it, +while with raised head he watched the Pou-Kas of which the distant +summit barred the heavens with a clear horizontal line. + +"There must be some roundabout way, some path where they do not set a +watch!" thought he. "Why did not I remember to ask about it, for that +is the one we shall have to follow if we do not wish to be stopped." + +He hesitated a minute, then turning back on his steps he walked to the +hut set aside for Hmon, the Stieng woman. Through the wide-open door he +saw her lying at the foot of the sleeping bench, her forehead on the +black wood and her arms stretched out. + +He entered and placed one of his hands on the uncovered shoulder of the +young woman. + +"Hmon," said he, "I have yet this...." + +The words died on his lips. He jerked away his fingers, disagreeably +surprised by the touch of her cold, rough flesh. He bent over her. +Along her amber-colored neck a thin trickle of blood, almost coagulated +already, came from under the hair, and making a bend over the left +shoulder, lost itself inside the tunic below. + +"Hmon! Hmon!" he called. + +At the same time, taking the woman's head, he raised it. The face +was gray, marbled with pale spots; the eyes, half-shut, showing the +eyeballs, sightless and strangely fluid. The thin, discolored lips, +however, seemed to smile at him strangely from the other side of the +Unknown. + +Father Ravennes gently let the forehead fall back, and the body in its +black tunic once more resumed its attitude of supplication and prayer. +Against the dark wood of the sleeping-bench the long livid hands +showed up clearly. The paleness of the bent neck was emphasized, and +suddenly among the lowest strands of hair at the base of the skull he +saw the head of a large pin, curiously ornamented with a grinning mask, +sticking out, glittering and ominous. + +The missionary looked at it for a second; then, taking from his neck +the beads, from the end of which hung his crucifix, he passed it about +the shoulders of Hmon the Stieng, and going down on his knees, he +clasped his hands and prayed. + +Outside, the brisk crow of a cock vibrated, saluting the warm and +golden resurrection of the day. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV + + INTO THE UNKNOWN + + +Over the crest of the mountains the sun showed its edge, and slowly +rose. An elephant, lifting his brown trunk towards it, trumpeted long +and loud. The pink and gray of the daylight filtered into the sky and +drove away the shadows lying deep in the ravines of the mountain. The +pachyderms chained to their pickets before the gate of the fort rocked +slowly from side to side. + +Seated on a packing-case Pierre was overseeing the loading of the +baggage. By blows of their ankuses and with cries and insults the +mahouts made their beasts bend their necks and forced them to kneel. +On the square pack-saddles, strengthened by thick belts of split +bamboo, the sacks of rice and the packages of provisions were heaped. +Each elephant, after its loading was finished, with a slow pitching +movement raised itself and took up its place ready for the start. +The mahouts, crouched on their great necks, exchanged jokes with the +Cambodian riflemen camped around them and to whom the headman, standing +before the emptied packing-cases distributed munitions and arms: a Gras +musket, model of 1874, and one hundred and fifty cartridges to each man. + +A flock of egrets rising from the bank of the canal flew across the +shining sky. Their sharp cries made Father Ravennes lift his head. He +watched for a moment their glittering flight in the direction of the +mountain, then he turned to his two guides: + +"You understand, do you not? We are to cross the canal and strike +towards the east. No one except you two, Sahib Lursac and myself is to +know the exact object of the expedition." + +The two men made a sign of agreement. Their long Moï lances in their +clenched hands, their loins swathed in narrow cloth bands, they +stretched their naked bodies, over which the muscles stood out clearly, +and smiled with an animal pleasure in the growing warmth of the day. + +One of them said: + +"That's understood, Father. For three nights we are to march across +the plain, then on the morning of the fourth day we are to turn and go +straight towards the Pou-Kas." + +"Yes," agreed Lursac, "that is right. But shall we have, by that time, +got far enough round the mountain to take it in the rear? Understand me +well: it is absolutely necessary for us to come out on the other face +of the plateau and not before the temple itself. What we have to do is +to surprise them. To do that there is only one way: to arrive there by +a path which no one has thought of, and to catch them in the rear. It +is above all necessary that before attacking the Pou-Kas itself we must +have got well round it." + +The man who had already spoken again assured him: + +"We understand: the three days' march towards the east will be plenty. +But then those people will see where we are going, and..." + +With his finger he pointed at the riflemen and the mahouts grouped +before the fort. + +Lursac stopped him. + +"Don't worry about them," said he, "I will undertake to make them +march." + +The man looked at him thoughtfully. + +"Perhaps it would have been better to tell them, but you are the +master...." + +A ray of sunshine slanting towards the valley shed an oblique light +upon it and illuminated the fort. The bespattered straw roofs showed +their steep slopes of blazing yellow against the morning sky. + +Pierre watched contemplatively the familiar scene now so vividly +illuminated by the sunlight. He thought of his arrival three months +earlier. The missionary dropped his hand upon his shoulder. + +"The time is come," said he. + +Pierre shivered and signalled to the guides. + +"Start!" + +The two men set out towards the canal and behind them the caravan +stirred into motion. + + * * * * * + +They were struggling through the desert. Around them the sun +beat heavily upon the naked sandy plain which reflected its rays +mercilessly. Here and there dried-up swamps showed their clay bottoms +covered all over with heat cracks, while the herbage, which during +the rainy season had made a girdle of green about them, hung yellow, +withered and sapless. + +Far away, in the west, along the blue horizon, the banks of the canal +with their string of reddish mangroves made a thin edging which grew +smaller and smaller with every hour of their march. Distant and +threatening, the Moï mountains now made under the burning sky but a +single confused crowd of peaks above which the Pou-Kas alone soared +clear and dominating. + +Towards evening the first hillocks made their appearance. Like small +waves stricken into stillness the plain broke into undulations which +ran east and west so that the setting sun shining over their tops +barred them alternately with light and shade. + +Between two hillocks where the course of a dried-up stream had still +left a patch of stagnant water the guides called a halt. Then, in the +limpid night, the fires of their first camp shot up in twisted flame +and threw against the shoulders of the hills the magnified shadows of +the elephants sporting in the slimy water. + +On the summit of one of the hillocks one of Father Ravennes' guides +had taken his stand as sentinel. He stood erect, immobile, leaning on +his lance. Against the milky sky his body stood out in its barbaric +profile, and through the night, until the dawn, his guttural voice +cried out the hour of the watch at the measured time. + +For two days more, the march resumed at dawn continued all day till +night across the Waterless Country, a gloomy land made desolate by +drought. Under the sky, shining like a polished steel mirror, the +desert flamed monotonous and endless. The wind tearing down from the +high plateau to the north swept it with long strokes. The sand rose up +in clouds and rolled round the caravan, whipping the faces of the men, +scorching their throats and leaving between their cracked lips voices +which had sunk to a hoarse whisper and their breath dry and laboring. +The heat of the ground burnt their feet through their sandals, and upon +their backs bent by marching the implacable sun fell like flame. + + * * * * * + +The third night found them seventy miles from the station, on the edge +of a water-course cut between two hillocks. The muddy banks, burnt hard +by the terrible heat, had broken away under the enormous weight of the +elephants. Between the sandy slopes under the meagre shade cast by a +prickly gum-tree was a large pool of stagnant water, now transformed +into red mud by the trampling of the elephants. In their tent, pitched +on the point of the dune, Father Ravennes and Lursac were listening +while the headman made his daily report. + +He was an old Cambodian with dreamy eyes and leisurely movements. In +his sing-songy voice sounded caressing inflections which suggested the +sweetness and tenderness of the love-songs of the Lao-ese country which +he was in the habit of singing to his men on the march to keep them in +step. + +"Then, to sum up," said Lursac, "we now have four men sick?" + +"Yes, three have fever and the fourth was wounded in the right foot +this morning. His comrades have had to carry him here." + +Lursac looked at the headman and his eyebrows drew together making a +bar across his forehead. + +"That man," said he, "cannot go on. He would be a nuisance to us and +would keep us back. And the others? Is it just a slight fever or a +serious attack?" + +The headman flung his arms wide with an air of disgust. + +"Who knows?" said he, "they complain. Their feet and legs are swollen, +and when we camp they don't eat and don't sleep. They spend the whole +night crouched before the fires, close enough to roast themselves." + +Lursac turned towards Father Ravennes. + +"What do you think of it?" + +The missionary nodded his head thoughtfully. + +"I am afraid that they are seriously ill. These feeble constitutions of +theirs, ready to contract any disease, always take the fever badly and +with distressing violence. I would rather they had got something else. +Quinine does not act on them, and in any case, they need, in order +to fight the disease, an energy and a moral force which they do not +possess." + +Pierre asked: + +"Then you think that the best thing we can do is to leave them behind?" + +"I am sure that it would be dangerous to encumber ourselves with +sick men. From the minute we enter the forest our approach will be +signalled. It's no good deceiving ourselves. A body of men like this +cannot march unseen. From that moment our principal chance of success +will lie in the swiftness of our march. We must get up there as quickly +as possible." + +Pierre assented with a nod. He signed to the headman. + +"You will pick out two men from the less serviceable ones and at +sunrise they are to start back and return to the Post with the four +invalids." + +He rapidly scratched a few words in his notebook, tore out the page and +handed it to the headman. + +"Here are their marching orders. We will give them six days' rations +of rice and dried fish. The sick men are to keep their muskets and +thirty cartridges each. The two men of the escort will take fifty each. +The ammunition which they leave behind is to be distributed among the +remaining riflemen. That's one thing settled. Have you anything else to +tell me?" + +"Nothing, sahib." + +"Good. Start at the same hour tomorrow. That's all. You can return to +the camp." + +The man bowed. + +"I salute you, sahib." + +"I salute you, Ket-Noi." + +With a bitter smile on his lips Pierre turned to Father Ravennes. + +"Six men less," said he, "and we have not yet even entered the forest!" + +The missionary made a soothing movement. + +"What matter? Six men more or less! The important thing is that our +troop, however much it may be reduced, should continue a solid, +homogeneous force, well in hand. These days of march across the +Waterless Country have naturally provided a sort of preliminary +trial,--the first selective process, of distinct value. The mountain is +probably keeping for us a second and more difficult one. I am afraid +of it, because it is a moral one. From tomorrow it will not be only +fatigue, fever, bad weather and privation that the men must face; there +will be something else." + +He was silent. Motionless in the middle of the opening of the tent he +turned his eyes towards the confused huddle of the Moï mountains of +which the vague cloudy masses under the tender sky made one think of +some slowly passing troop of animals monotonously heading towards the +north. + +Lursac, standing beside him, followed his look. The priest finished his +thought: + +"There will be also, and above all, fear," he murmured. + +Pierre remained silent. + +The warm dark came; and the quiet brought to their ears the sound of +talking among the native soldiers camping by the bed of the dried-up +torrent and the stamping of elephants in the swamp, the guttural calls +of the mahouts and even the crackling of the fires. + +Above the hillocks the rushing flight of a night-bird passed, faded +into the distance, and came back with beating wings, and at the sound +of its flight which seemed to fill the night with invisible rustlings, +the image of Wanda arose and filled all the dark spaces about him. + + * * * * * + +"Lursac, come and look at this...." + +Pierre, who was prone before the fire, towards which he was stretching +his hands, got up and went over to Father Ravennes. Kneeling down, with +his body bent over the black, leaf-covered earth, the missionary looked +thoughtfully at an object which it was difficult to distinguish clearly. + +"What is it?" asked Lursac. + +The priest raised his head: there was a strange ring in his voice. + +"Here, look what I have just found under this thin coating of leaves." + +He stretched out to him over his shoulder a sort of hammer made of +stone set in the end of a forked branch. The young man threw a rapid +glance over the weapon. It seemed to him clumsy, commonplace and of no +particular interest. + +"A skull-smasher left by some Moï?" said he. + +The missionary continued to look thoughtful. + +"Have you ever before seen any instrument of theirs like this?" he +asked. "I am well acquainted with most of the savage tribes of this +region. They are all armed with the lance, the crossbow, the curved +sword, and sometimes with a little iron hatchet with two cutting edges, +but never yet have I found among them a weapon in any way resembling +this...." + +He returned to his place before the fire. He continued to examine the +primitive instrument, turning it about between his hands. + +"No," said he, "this is certainly an axe belonging to prehistoric +times. Observe the oval shape of the flint, flattened on the two +sides and shaped by hand over its entire circumference. But there +is something even more strange about this simple stone. Look at it +carefully. Don't you notice anything?" + +"No," said Pierre absent-mindedly, "and I fail to understand your +surprise. Have you not already picked up more than thirty of the same +kind? As for me, I see no difference whatever between this hatchet and +all those I have already examined in your cabin." + +The priest said slowly: + +"The fact is that you do not know how to see." + +He held the flint close to the fire. On the regularity of its facets +the flame was reflected in small, sharp patches of light. + +"Look at these flakings still fresh from the cutting! That is what is +the peculiar thing about it. It's that that bewilders me and astounds +me. If I could trust to appearances I would swear that this weapon, +which all my anthropological knowledge tells me must be not less than +30,000 years old, has been cut by the maker within a few months. If +I were in Europe I should not hesitate to assert positively that the +thing was a fake, and that it came from one of these factories of +'prehistoric' arms that exist wherever the scientists dig for real +ones." + +Pierre smiled in amusement. + +"Ah!" said he, "and sometimes they do manage to humbug the +palæontologists." + +The missionary quickly protested: + +"Not now, but when the science was in its infancy, it was a trade that +often proved lucrative; but to imagine that here in the depths of +the Moï country there could be an industry of that sort would be too +preposterous!... However ..." + +He stopped and looked the weapon over once more with the greatest care. + +"However, I am not dreaming. This dull look is too characteristic for +me to be deceived about it. These are fresh fractures. The perfect +state of preservation of the stone itself signifies nothing, I know; +but the absence of patina,[11] of dentrites,[12] and of coloration on +this flint--how will you explain that? This is indeed one of the most +extraordinary problems that I have ever encountered since I have been +interested in prehistoric remains." + +[Footnote 11: A greenish gray discoloration which occurs on ancient +bronzes and other worked articles.] + +[Footnote 12: Faint branching marks, which occur on flints which have +been worked by men of prehistoric times. These designs are due to the +long-continued oxidisation of the iron and manganese in the stone.] + +"Bah!" said Pierre, "a Moï may have found the weapon in a hollow in +some ravine and used it himself and made these new fractures that seem +so strange to you." + +Father Ravennes made a sign of incredulity. + +"Yes," said he, "I thought of that. That explanation would be likely +enough if this find were my only one; but in the two days that we have +been in the forest this is the eleventh discovery that I have made. +Yesterday four scratching pins and two other hatchets; today, two +knives, two scrapers, and now this hatchet.... And every one of these +instruments without exception offers the same appearance of newness and +the same recent fractures. No, believe me, Lursac, this is one more +mystery added to the other, to the great secret towards the discovery +of which we are marching." + +He remained thoughtful. The flame of the camp-fire flickered in his +pale pupils. He had a peculiar expression in his eyes. + +"At least," said he, "there may be one single mystery, and this, +perhaps, is just one of its elements, one of its unforeseen aspects." + +Pierre looked him up and down sharply. + +"What do you mean?" he asked. "You seem to have thought of something!" + +The missionary avoided the pointed enquiry of his eyes. + +"Nothing," said he evasively, "I am groping my way. Amid the darkness +which surrounds me I seem sometimes to find a ray of light. It +appears suddenly, flickers, flees and disappears. A light ... I am +searching...." + +He thought for a minute and then continued: + +"I say to myself that in the heart of this Moï country, whose people +still live a life which is animal and primitive, an existence very +similar to that which the men of the first days of life on the earth +must have lived, there lies a great temple without doubt several +centuries old. How and by whom was this temple built? That is the +first question. In this sanctuary mysterious divinities reign--the +Red Gods--of whom an image in purple metal, probably copper, is +enthroned in the centre of the main hall. But these gods themselves, +what are they? That is the second question. Sometimes the people call +them the Living Gods. Do you remember Hmon's story? What then? Are +they Lamas, living Buddhas, similar to those who reign on the lofty +plateaus of Thibet? There would be nothing impossible in the thing, +nothing unlikely. And the sect that worships them? To what faith do +they belong? Buddhism, Taoism, Brahmanism, or just fetichism? Finally, +why is the matter wrapped about with secrecy so impenetrable and so +fiercely protected? The natives must know that their religion, whatever +it is, has nothing to fear from French rule. The pagodas and bonzes of +Annam, Tonkin, of Cochin-China and Cambodia are there to bear witness +to that! What then?... No! there is evidently behind all that, behind +and beyond it, something or somebody: a secret association, or a +mysterious personage, of which this temple is the dwelling place. The +religious question is only the camouflage that the sorceresses keep up +carefully, and which they use to hide this reality of which I have long +suspected the existence without ever having been able to discover in +what it consists. Hmon only told us the least important part of it ... +and I am searching...." + +Pierre shrugged his shoulders. + +"What is the good of imagining all these worries? In three days we +shall be up there and we shall know with what we have to deal. As for +these weapons, the reason for their presence here is probably much +simpler and much less romantic than you think. Prehistoric man probably +had one of his first dwelling places on these plateaus. Didn't you tell +me so yourself? The Moïs must have found some of the caves which these +prehistoric men used to occupy, and in the caves these remains which +they left lying about throughout the region. What worries me much more +than that is the behaviour of our men and of our beasts." + +The missionary made no answer. He seemed to accept Pierre's explanation +but his eyes retained their expression at once thoughtful and anxious. +In any case, the last remark of the young man had brought up other +matters for concern. + + * * * * * + +The night before, they had plunged into the maze of the mountain +masses. The sudden change of direction, which had been ordered at +dawn of the fourth day, had obviously provoked among the men of the +escort an anxious disquiet, a sort of vague uneasiness. Nevertheless, +the roughness with which Pierre had imposed his will upon them seemed +to have dominated them. The mahouts on their heavily swaying beasts +had followed the guides, but their eyes remained glued to the forest +of which the details slowly came nearer and grew clearer. The native +soldiers behind them walked without speaking to each other, and the +caravan went forward in the midst of a troubled silence in which +nothing was heard but the dull trampling of the elephants. Little by +little the scenery changed. To the sandy desert had succeeded the +dazzling monotony of a grassy plain which in turn gave way to the +first slopes of the mountain range carpeted by the bamboo-grass of +the forest clearings, with slender shrubs and the _Irui_, whose long, +pointed purple buds stretched themselves skyward like solid flames. +Here and there stagnant creeks lay across their path, green and slimy, +attracting the elephants so that the mahouts had to stab their ears +with heavy ankus blows to prevent them rolling in the sticky blackish +hollows encircled by thorny, twisted and misshapen trees. Then the +mountain, heaving up its giant flanks, had barred the way of the +expedition with its steep declivities. Immediately difficulties had +arisen. Among the tangled confusion of twisted trunks, of creepers, +of cane-palms, of pandanus trees and of interlacing undergrowth, the +riflemen, axe in hand, had had to cut a way for the beasts. The ground, +covered with a heavy carpet of sodden leaves, sweated a perpetual +moisture; and wherever they trod the decay from the rotting masses of +vegetation underneath burst upwards in black bubbles. + +From the piled débris covering the path hungry leeches, the innumerable +red leeches of the Moï forests, swarmed in their turn, crawling to +attack the men. They tore them off as they walked, but the first +evening, just before camp had been made, three of the men, with their +legs streaked with long trickles of blood and covered with wounds, the +muscles swollen and stiff, had rolled over groaning. Dull and resigned, +their faces drawn with pain, they had seated themselves on the trunk of +an uprooted tree where they shook their naked feet mottled with bloody +spots to which clung new leeches, avid and persistent. It had been +necessary to dress their wounds and to help them to walk to the camp. +And next morning, before continuing the march, Pierre found himself +obliged to send them back. Worse than that, the elephants, worn with +exertion, weary from having hauled their great weight up slopes of +hills and ravines and furiously shaking their great ears all bloody +from the recent stabs of the ankuses, had shown throughout the day +signs of growing terror. + + * * * * * + +And now, before the camp-fires the mahouts were on guard. They had +doubled the chains that secured their beasts, as at night, even more +than during the day, the thick brains of the pachyderms seemed to swarm +with obscure thoughts of rebellion and angry confusion. + +Around his picket Bookobomo-of-the-Forest, the leader of the elephant +file, could be heard stamping heavily. He was an enormous male recently +captured on the high Boloven plateaus. He had retained a lively +remembrance of the noises of the forest and the mountain passes; and +when, during the afternoon, he had crossed the track of a herd of wild +elephants and stopped long to sniff at it, for a long time after he had +trumpeted deafeningly and savagely towards the depths of the woods,--a +trumpeting in which vibrated unaccustomed tones and through which +seemed to sweep the rude breath of the wind bending the great grasses +in which, a few months before, he had lived his wild free life. The +other beasts of the convoy--the females--were under the influence of +his force and ascendancy. Slow and docile they had followed him on the +march. + +Hearing the hammer blows of his stamping, Pierre became anxious. + +He repeated with seriousness: + +"Yes, what worries me is the behavior of the men, and even more so that +of the beasts...." + +He looked around him. Grouped before a large camp-fire which the two +guides in turn attended to, the riflemen lay wrapped in a heavy sleep +broken by nervous movements. + +The voices of the mahouts, camped with their elephants near a swamp at +some little distance, came to him through the curtain of the trees. + +The atmosphere, cold and heavy, shed its damp in a thin steam, and an +inexpressible weight seemed to bear down upon the forest. Giving way +to the universal torpor which the night distilled around him, Pierre +stretched himself and yawned, then remembering Wanda he rose to his +feet. With his eyes set in an expression of stern determination, and +shaking off his premonition of failure, he stiffened his will and +stilled his doubts with an energetic affirmation: + +"I will get there, with or without them--alone, if necessary." + +Roughly, almost violently, he repeated it looking at the missionary: + +"I will get there ... I will get there...." + +But the forest, drowned in darkness, seemed to stifle his voice; and +the priest, deeply absorbed in his own thoughts, said nothing. + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + DEEPENING MYSTERY + + +"_Bay chon?_" + +"_Breil koil toxo!_"[13] + +[Footnote 13: What is it? + +They have gone, they have fled!] + +The cries of the two guides rose followed by a string of oaths. + +Awakened with a start, Pierre looked around him. Lying on his back, +with his hands crossed over his chest, Father Ravennes still slept. +His face even in his sleep wore an air of serenity and kindness which +struck the young man afresh. Around them was beginning to float a +grayish clearness. + +The voices of the Moïs came nearer and louder, and the flap of the +tent, pulled violently aside, gave entrance to the men. With their +lances in their hands they burst in, shouting and gesticulating. +Instinctively Pierre stretched out his hand and seized the revolver +which lay beside him in its holster. + +Jumping to his feet with a single spring, the missionary broke in: + +"What's happening?" + +The guides both together cried out: + +"They've gone, all of them ... all of them ... while we were asleep!" + +They stammered: their eyes were dazed and their movements jerky. + +Lursac looked at them without understanding. He imagined they were +drunk. + +"Gone, where? Of whom are you speaking?" + +Ngur swore: + +"The _linhs_, those sons of dogs.... Gone, run off! I told you, sahib! +It would have been better to tell them. We should have known at once +what to expect...." + +Pierre no longer listened. He had gone suddenly pale and then a wave +of red surged into his face. He elbowed the two men aside and rushed +out. Father Ravennes hurried at his back. In the middle of the glade +they stopped. The camp-fires were going out. Among the warm ashes a few +live coals still glowed. Here and there lying on the ground abandoned +haversacks still showed the marks of the heads which had lain on them +during the night. Around lay packets of cartridges. + +His teeth clenched in fury, Pierre mechanically counted some twenty of +them. + +"The brutes! ..." he groaned. "The brutes!..." + +He turned toward the guides. + +"But what on earth came over them? Last night when the headman made his +report we guessed nothing, suspected nothing. There was not a sign that +could lead us to think of a desertion. When did you become aware that +they had disappeared?" + +Ngur answered: + +"Just a few minutes ago. We were sleeping in the middle of them. Pâa +was lying by the headman's side. Waking up, we were surprised not to +see any of them ... and then finding _this_ close by our faces we +understood!" + +And with the point of his lance he pushed two bunches of half-burnt +roots. + +Father Ravennes bent over quickly to look at them. + +"Ah!" said he, rising again, "_koh-heun-kauang_, the smoke of which +intoxicates and stupefies. They made sure of the silence of our guides +by burning this stuff under their noses during the night. They must be +a long way off by now!" + +He turned to question the guides. + +"How long ago did they start, do you think?" + +The two men looked carefully at the half-dead fires and the abandoned +haversacks. + +"See for yourself, Father. The sacks are damp, but rain has not fallen +since the second watch, the mahouts tell us, therefore, they must have +started before it stopped." + +Pierre gave a start. He turned abruptly on his heel. + +"The elephants? The elephants?" + +And running, he reached the swamp ringed about with trees and thick +undergrowth, on the edge of which the mahouts had made their camp. + +Sunk to their knees in the blackish water of the creek, the beasts were +squirting their muddy sides with great jets from their bent trunks. +Seated beside the saddles on the ground the mahouts were talking among +themselves. + +Pierre experienced a profound relief, and he slackened his pace +and entered the group of La-oese who had risen respectfully at his +approach. Standing among them he examined their faces. He scrutinized +their eyes with a quick look. He found them emotionless and passive, +awaiting his instructions, and the sight of their indifference brought +back to him his own self-control. + +He said nothing to them about the desertion of the riflemen. Quietly +lighting a cigarette he gave the order to load the elephants. Then +he went back towards the clearing. His mind upset for an instant had +recovered its equilibrium. His decision was made: the march must +continue. + +He found the missionary at the place where he had left him several +minutes before, still arguing with the guides. He avoided the glance +with which the priest acknowledged his return and addressed himself to +Ngur and Pâa: + +"Go and help the mahouts. We will start as soon as they are ready." + +The two men showed no signs of surprise or of wishing to dispute the +order. They assented: + +"Very well, sahib"; and without a word set off at their habitual easy +gait. + +Roughly, with the object of impressing his will and cutting short all +arguments, Lursac said: + +"It is too late to go back. If we tried to catch up with the riflemen, +what would be the good? First of all we should probably be unable +to catch them; and then, secondly, supposing we did get them and +bring them back, we should only have lagging behind us a body of men +prostrated with terror, a mob of cowards, who at the first occasion +would desert us afresh." + +He stopped, awaiting a reply. The missionary remained silent: with a +rather sad smile upon his lips he contented himself with listening +attentively to the young man. + +"And anyway," continued Pierre, "the elephants with their mahouts +remain to us; the guides also. They are the ones that are really +necessary. Once we have arrived at the top I shall consider, I shall +make a plan which afterwards I can modify according to circumstances." + +He intentionally left the missionary out in explaining his project. +The words that he had spoken the evening before came back to his lips +instinctively and once more he spoke them to alleviate his distress: + +"I will get there ... alone if necessary.... I will get there!... I +will get there!" + +Abruptly he fell silent. His eyes met those of the priest, and before +the latter's meaning glance, his long look charged with reproach, he +hung his head. He was ashamed of having doubted him, of having tried +to impose his own authority upon him. The missionary, however, did not +seem to notice: he said simply: + +"I shall go on with you, if you will let me." + +But the smile with which he accompanied the words was sadder and graver +than ever. + + * * * * * + +Towards night they came to the bank of a river, before which Bookobomo +stopped distrustfully. Behind him the other elephants stood motionless +in file. The rain had begun to fall again. Under the flood which +drenched them and made them shiver, the men, chilled and covered with +sticky mud, looked down at the gray waters of the river which the +downpour seemed to riddle with innumerable perforations. + +Above the rift, which the course of the waters had notched in the +forest, hung a lane of gray sky marbled with heavy, round clouds that +lay dark and motionless. The five mahouts who had swarmed down from the +necks of their beasts were grouped round the great male whose driver +was the only one remaining at his post. Crouched over the bony head of +his beast, the man talked to his mount while he stroked its wrinkled +neck and encouraged it. Slowly swinging his trunk, Bookobomo began to +go forward, descending the bank and stepping cautiously into the water. +The current slid between his great pillar-like legs, rose to his knees, +then to his stomach, washed his wrinkled sides, rose yet further and +continued to rise.... + +Then with a sudden turn, Bookobomo flung himself backwards, stumbled +out of the water and with his feet driven into the mud of the bank he +defied all attempts to move him. Around him the cries of the mahouts +and the guide broke out, mixed with insults and entreaties. Armed with +sticks they tried to make him turn round and face the water again. +Persisting in his resistance, Bookobomo trumpeted but refused to stir. +The men on all sides began beating him. A fit of rage seized the +pachyderm. He tried to get rid of the man crouching on his back. He +scraped himself against the trunk of a mangrove and then lay suddenly +down on his side, but the Lao-ese, who had drawn back to the rear end +of the beast, outside the range of his trunk, continued to beat him +on the head with his ankus.... Supported by one hand caught in the +ropes of bamboo which secured the pack-saddle he tirelessly raised and +let fall on the head of the beast the heavy pole of wood shod with an +iron point, until the blood squirted from the neck and forehead and +ran down in rivulets along the brown skin. Getting up and shaking his +massive body violently, with his trunk rolled backwards in its fighting +position and his head held high, Bookobomo trumpeted afresh. Then with +a dash he flung himself into the current and swam furiously. Reaching +the other bank he climbed it and turned his great head towards his +companions who remained on the other side, and again the call of his +trumpeting broke out savagely, sounding rebellion and defiance. On +the edge he had just left, the trumpeting of the females rang out in +response. + +The guides standing beside Pierre and the missionary exchanged an +anxious glance which Father Ravennes caught. + +"What is worrying you?" he asked. + +Ngur pointed at the five females who were getting ready to cross the +creek. + +"They are calling too loud," said he, "and he," pointing at Bookobomo, +"since he got into the forest is thinking too much of the mountains of +the Bolovens where he used to live in freedom. We shall have to watch +them tonight." + +"Yes," Pâa said in his turn, "the elephant which cries in the forest is +on his way to becoming wild again." + +"The advice is good," said Pierre. "We will watch them." + + * * * * * + +When the four men in their turn reached the other bank, the night +was already falling. A flurrying wind blowing the rain before it in +slanting torrents invaded the forest, making the trees groan beneath it. + +Camping on the threshold of the wood, a quarter of a mile beyond the +creek, the men made their meagre meal. The elephants, attached by their +hind feet to the trunks of trees, pulled down the branches above them +and ate the leaves slowly. From time to time they stopped, and with +waving trunks and pricked-up ears seemed to be listening to the voice +of the wind as it sang through the aisles of the forest. Gathered +together round a single fire the two guides and the mahouts warmed +themselves. One of them recited aloud an adventure at once puerile and +complicated, a story of love and terror in which the embraces of a +Pou-Sao[14] rewarded the fabulous exploits of a buffalo-hunter. And the +others, like children, listened intently. + +[Footnote 14: A Cambodian girl.] + +In the middle, rolled up in their cloaks and lying side by side, Lursac +and Father Ravennes talked in low voices. + +"Tomorrow?" asked Pierre. "Shall we get there tomorrow?" + +His voice trembled. + +"I think so," said the missionary, "we are not more than five hours' +march from the Pou-Kas. Five hours ... four, perhaps! And we will allow +as much more for the finding of the mysterious entrance to the temple +which we none of us know...." + +He hesitated for a moment, and then in his turn asked the question: + +"What do you think?" + +Pierre signified doubt by a vague movement. + +"I know nothing about it," said he. "The desertion of the riflemen has +upset all my plans. We can no longer hope to rescue Wanda from them by +force." + +He turned suddenly to the priest. + +"Do you know how much we have got left in the way of arms and +ammunition? My service revolver and a dozen cartridges which I had on +me! All the rest was carried off by the riflemen! Ah! the brutes! If +they only had left us even two rifles, one each...." + +The priest looked at him with his kind eyes. + +"Only one of them would have been used," said he gently. "God alone, +who gives life to men, has the right to take it away from them. I have +no right to kill. My only hope...." + +He interrupted himself and smiled. + +"I beg your pardon," said he. "It seems as if I were preaching a sermon +and this is not the time, and still less is it the place. I will come +back to my question: What will you do when you reach there?" + +Pierre looked vaguely in front of him. His thoughts had gone back in +search of a memory and were already in the past. He swiftly lived over +again his declaration to Wanda in the forest; the feel of the kiss +that she had given him--of the only kiss that he had ever had from +her,--came again to his lips. With a slight tightening at the corners +of his mouth and his eyelids beating rapidly he closed his eyes. + +"We will hide somewhere near the temple and wait for an opportunity +to get inside," said he. "We shall have to make use of patience +and subtlety. We must remain invisible and watch the goings-in and +comings-out. The whole thing will be to see the most favorable moment +and be quick to use it." + +The missionary approved. + +"That is the wisest plan, and the one which I had myself thought best +from the beginning; but is also the one which will demand calm heads +and the power of waiting passively. The least imprudence, the first +too-hasty movement, will deprive us of any chance of success. We must +succeed at the first attempt...." + +"Have no fear," said Pierre, "I will wait as long as necessary, and I +will not act except on a certainty. For the rest...." + +The trumpeting of the elephants interrupted him. Straining hard at +their bonds they had all together flung a sudden loud call into the +night. The mahouts and the guides, suddenly ceasing their talk, +nervously watched the brutes who were snorting and restlessly moving +about. They had stopped eating. With their heads turned towards the +depths of the forest they seemed to be listening to mysterious voices +which were inaudible to the ears of man. + +Ngur murmured: + +"They are calling...." + +But one of the mahouts, shaking his head, corrected him: + +"No ... worse than that.... They are answering! Listen!" + +They all remained intensely on the alert. Having thrown aside their +cloaks, Lursac and Father Ravennes sat up. With their eyes, like the +others', instinctively fixed on the sombre masses of the woods, they +listened absorbedly. + +Confused noises far in the distance came to them, so vague that they +could not define them. Then they grew louder and more definite. It +sounded like the trampling of a great herd of animals on the march +through the underbrush. It came nearer and nearer, until it was +apparently opposite them: they could hear the heavy thuds of feet mixed +with the crashing of the torn-up bushes and the breaking of trees and +smashing of branches. It stopped. There was a short silence: then the +noise began again, diminished, turned to the right, went behind them, +then to the left and finally was heard once more opposite, having made +a great circle about the camp, with the caravan as its centre. + +Wrapping his trunk round the _klong_-tree to which he was tied, and +leaning his whole weight against it, Bookobomo shook it in a desperate +effort to uproot it. The top of the tree waved violently, scraping the +trees around it with its branches. However, it stood firm. The elephant +became enraged and pulled still harder. The slim, straight tree-trunk +trembled: around the roots cracks came in the soil and Bookobomo roared +in a voice vibrating with triumph, while, following him, the females +in their turn trumpeted into the shadows. Again there fell a silence. +Then suddenly in the distance a great call rose up to the sky and tore +through the night, a strange call which resembled the trumpeting of +the elephants but which was somehow different, more sonorous, and with +sharper inflections, wilder and stronger. + +Father Ravennes shivered. He had that strange look on his face which +Pierre had noticed two days earlier. + +"Extraordinary," he murmured. "I must clear this up!" + +He had already risen to his feet, but Ngur stepped in front of him. + +"No, Father, it will be better for you to stay here because of those +people." Indicating the mahouts with a movement of his chin, he added: + +"I will go myself." + +The missionary was on the point of protesting, but at this moment the +mahouts, jumping up in excitement, shouted: + +"Torches! Quick ... quick!..." + +And at the same time with flaming firebrands in their hands they flung +themselves at their beasts, making a circle of flame about them. Lursac +and the priest took part in it. They all ran round and round the +elephants, shouting and waving their torches and striking the elephants +with heavy blows from their ankuses. + +For over an hour the pachyderms turned and circled round the trees to +which they were attached, rocked from foot to foot, reared up on their +hind legs and made desperate efforts to get loose. Finally, however, +blinded by the torches, in agony from the ankus blows, their excitement +diminished and they stood sulkily by their trees, stilled and conquered. + +Meanwhile, about them the disturbance of the mysterious herd that had +been prowling there, became more distant and gradually quieted down, +seeming to make its way towards the north from which it had come. + +"A herd of wild elephants who were coming down to drink at the river," +said Pierre, "our presence must have...." + +But the return of Ngur cut short his explanation. At the sight of the +face of the usually impassive Moï, now transfigured with emotion and +completely changed in this short time, he lapsed into silence. + +The man stood apart and called to Father Ravennes with a gesture. + +The missionary took Pierre's arm. + +"Come," said he. + +Throwing down their torches, they went to speak to Ngur. + +"Well," asked the priest, "what is the matter?" + +Wiping his face, down which the rain was streaming, with the back of +his hand, the guide said: + +"I saw them. They were elephants, but of a kind I do not know and which +I have never met before." + +Eagerly the missionary questioned him: + +"What were they like?" + +The man spread his arms wide. + +"The one which passed in front of me," said he, "was, perhaps, twice as +big and twice as heavy as Bookobomo, with its body covered with hair +and a long head." + +"And its tusks? Its tusks?" demanded the missionary. + +The hoarseness and jerkiness of his voice astounded Lursac. + +"I did not have the time to see properly. He charged through the +undergrowth and passed ahead of me, going very fast. Perhaps the tusks +were broken. Further away I saw other great male elephants running in +file." + +The missionary remained a moment without speaking, listening to the +sound of the rain falling through the forest. + +"They are a long way off now," he murmured. + +His words seemed to carry a feeling of regret which he immediately +admitted: + +"Ah! if I had been there myself! You are sure that they had their +bodies covered with hair?" + +"Sure, Father! Long hair, which came down to the bottom of their legs +and made a sort of mane round their necks." + +The missionary's face lit up and became eager. He seemed to have +forgotten the guide and Lursac. + +With his head hung forward, he stared a moment absorbedly in thought. +Then slowly in a changed voice he murmured: + +"Long hair, which comes to the bottom of their legs and lies in a mane +along their backs. Can it possibly be that what I saw three days ago is +true? After all, why not? All the same it would be terrible if--.... +No, it is impossible and beyond all reason. It is no good my +looking ... there isn't a link missing in the chain that I have +followed, in the chain that has led me to this conclusion. Nothing!... +But what then?..." + +Pierre, astounded, heard him give a loud laugh, bitter and strange, +which the scene about them made yet stranger.... + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + NEAR THE END OF THE JOURNEY + + +The dawn found them once more on the march. The rain still fell, fine +and persistent. Its pattering had now become familiar music to them. It +formed the setting of their words and of their movements, and they had +become so thoroughly accustomed to the vast sound of splashing by which +they were surrounded that they no longer noticed it. The rest of the +night had been spent in watching the elephants and keeping guard over +their still dangerous excitement. Only the missionary, quite careless +of the general anxiety, had remained apart from the others with his +back against a tree, taking no notice of the rain which poured over +him, turning over in his mind thoughts for which he had no words and +the hidden current of which left his face drawn and his eyes filled +with shadows. + +Now, lost in his meditations, he walked at the tail of the procession. +Pierre, tired of his silence, had gone on to join the two guides. The +elephants advanced rapidly. The soil, now spotted with patches of +moss, gave better footing for their heavy steps. The last slope of the +towering mountain whose successive heights they had climbed during the +last few days offered itself to their advance in a gentle declivity, +which they were ascending with comparative ease. Towards the middle +of the day they reached the last height. Before them, surrounded by +the forest which reached halfway up its sides, the very crest of the +mountain stood naked, rising out of a billowing sea of giant grasses. +Pierre gave a deep sigh. Here, this very ground on which he was +treading, was the extreme summit of the "Moï Country": this hill, of +which the caravan was already beginning to descend the reverse, was the +roof of the whole of Indo-China. He forgot his fatigue, his suffering, +his disappointments. Around him lay unrolled on every side the country +which no one had yet reached, the immense territory into which no +European, up to that moment, had succeeded in penetrating. The spirit +of the great explorers inspired him for a moment--their soul and their +keen pride of achievement.... Towards the south and the east, violet, +blue and gray, crests of all shapes and sizes--rounded, domed and +pointed--one behind the other spread away in ranks like the steps of a +great staircase marking the stages of the route which they had followed. + +The glance of the young man then turned towards the west. The mountain +on which he was standing culminated in a short, steep slope, from the +foot of which, level and boundless and clad in its thick mantle of +trees, the plateau of the Pou-Kas stretched to the horizon, the plateau +on the other edge of which, facing the south, stood the temple of the +"Red Gods." At the same time his mood of exaltation suddenly fell away +from him. The totally unexpected contour of the ground near at hand +became clear to him. A sort of natural fault in the rock, about a mile +and a half wide, crossed it, encircling it, as it were, with a deep +gulf which stretched to the very edge of the forest. He calculated +that in order to reach the western side of the plateau on which the +sanctuary was built it would be necessary to follow the edge of this +crevasse for a distance of at least thirty miles. + +"Two more days' march at least," he thought aloud. + +The voice of the missionary, answering him unexpectedly, made him start. + +"Perhaps!" he said; "but on the other hand, perhaps we have already +arrived." + +Pierre turned quickly and saw the priest standing behind him. His arms +crossed on his breast, his head bare, regardless of the rain which was +whipping his face and moulding his tunic to his body, he was looking at +the strange valley that lay before him. + +"I don't understand you," said Lursac. "It will be absolutely necessary +to go round this crevasse." + +The missionary looked as if he didn't hear him. He followed out his own +thoughts. + +"Notice," said he, continuing to gaze before him, "the direction of +this gulf. It runs parallel to the edge of the plateau. Notice also +how the cliff on the further side which faces us comes in places quite +close to this edge." + +"Yes," said Pierre, "there only seems to be a space of about half a +mile between them just here." + +"Good! Well, now remember what Hmon told us--'before us a subterranean +passage descended and turned downwards. Walls trickling with moisture +were lighted up from time to time....' Among many others, these phrases +struck me. They came to my mind immediately when I saw this great +canyon in the rocks. Have they no meaning for you? Doesn't that suggest +an idea to you--the same one which has just crossed my own mind?" + +"Ah!" cried Pierre, "the other entrance to the sanctuary, which no one +knows, but which, however, must exist?" + +The priest nodded his head. + +"Go on," said he, "finish your thought; this entrance?..." + +"You believe that it is to be found at the bottom of this crevasse?" + +"The more I think of it the more the thing seems likely. Anyway, it is +quite easy to make sure of it. We can wait till evening on the edge of +this canyon; spend the night in it and tomorrow...." + +"Tomorrow," murmured Pierre, "always tomorrow!" + +And he began to descend the slope of the mountain. A cry from Father +Ravennes stopped him halfway. He turned round so quickly and with such +anxiety that he was astonished at himself. + +At the same time he called: + +"Ravennes! Ravennes!" + +The sound of his own voice, changed by emotion, seemed strange to him, +and he suddenly understood the quality and force of the affection which +bound him to his companion. + +The priest at this moment appeared running towards him. + +"Ah!" said Pierre, "how you frightened me. What's the matter?" + +The missionary, taking him by the arm, pulled him in the direction of +the plain. + +"Come," said he, "come!" + +And as they went together he explained: + +"It seemed to me from up there that I could see ... but I thought I +must be mistaken. Here ... look ... yes ... at the angle of the glade +down there, on the left, just where the level ground begins." + +Pierre bent over and examined the glade which a single unexpected ray +of watery sunshine clothed in a veil of gold; it seemed to him to be +empty and dominated by the top of an enormous mango-tree which stood in +its centre. + +They continued their descent. The top of the giant tree, making a +motionless patch of darkness in the midst of the packed undergrowth +served them as a goal. When they got to the level they did not even +need its aid. Through the high grass a sort of track was visible. They +followed it. Before them, describing great circles in the transparent +sky three tawny eagles sailed with long metallic cries, encircling the +leafy summit of the mango-tree in their flight. + +The missionary began to hurry, almost running. When he arrived in front +of the glade he had to stop, gasping for breath. He was trembling with +exhaustion and emotion. The beating of his heart shook his entire +body and hammered in his temples. Supporting himself against a tree +he looked over the clearing. It was long and narrow, and surrounded +with thorny undergrowth. In the centre the gigantic mango-tree soared +aloft, casting all around a heavy shadow from its leafy branches about +which the three eagles still turned slowly in wide circles. Everything +was silent and still. The ray of sunshine having passed on, the whole +place was clothed in shadow except that just behind the tree a single +luminous spot remained. + +Walking towards it, the missionary murmured: + +"It is there." + +Then he was silent. + +In the middle of a splash of gold which the sunlight made on the earth +and which was getting smaller minute by minute a large hole in the +ground had just become visible to him, with a thin covering of branches +and grass which lay gaping open, as though torn by some shock. + +Pierre, who had caught him up, thought he understood what it meant. + +"An elephant trap!" + +At the same time seeing a ragged tunic lying on the ground close to the +hole, he cried: + +"Ravennes ... there.... Look!" + +The missionary made no answer. + +Kneeling on the edge of the pit he was separating the branches and +pulling the covering of grass away, bending over to see better. +Suddenly he flung himself back, his face as white as a sheet. + +Pierre, bending down, in his turn, looked also. + +He saw an excavation which seemed several yards deep, with sharpened +stakes sticking upwards from the bottom. Caught on one of them lay a +white man. Below him on the ground lay spread the bones of a skeleton +still decorated with rags of clothes. + +The priest gave a hoarse sigh: + +"Redeski!" + +Clinging to the wall of the trap he climbed down into it. The officer's +body was hanging from a stake; the sharpened point of the picket had +pierced his side and was sticking out through the abdomen. On the other +side the head dangled down, the hair falling loose. In the waxen face +the mouth hung open with a red froth around it, while on the shirt +above the heart there spread a large purple patch which looked like the +blood-colored flower of the flame-tree. + +Down the haft of the spike the blood had flowed slowly and dried in a +black stream. + +Father Ravennes lifted the pallid head and looked at the blue eyes half +open in death. A vast sadness oppressed him. + +"The poor boy!" he said, "the poor boy! They got rid of him by flinging +him there...." + +He gently wiped the red slime from the lips, and slowly and tenderly, +shaken by heavy shudders, he lifted the body with its horrible ragged +wound off the spike. + +Stretched out on the ground on his back with his arms wide open the +young officer seemed thin and very tall. His face, although drawn with +terrible suffering, still seemed to bear a strange expression of calm +and strength. + +Father Ravennes bowed himself in prayer. + +"O God," said he, "receive him in thy divine mercy. We lived three +months together and I found him upright, ardent and young: his soul was +that of a man. O God, accept him!" + +Then taking the body in his arms he lifted it out of the pit to Pierre, +who took it. Between them, without speaking and as quickly as possible, +they managed to dig a grave in the shadow of the mango-tree. When the +simple burial was over, they stood up and looked at each other. Pierre, +pale and with his fists clenched, murmured: + +"It is only a few days since they killed him, isn't it? Ah! the +savages!..." + +The missionary, however, had not heard him. Having gone back to the +edge of the pit and bending over, he was looking down into it at the +skeleton which lay there. One of the rags of cloth hanging to it still +bore a metal button. Seeing it, he murmured: + +"A strip from a tunic. The remains of another white man for certain." + +He stayed there for a long time wrapped in thought; and when he got up +and looked for Pierre, he found that the young man had started back +towards the caravan. The priest sighed, and then heavily, with bent +shoulders, he in his turn followed towards the plain and rejoined his +companion, while above the mango-tree the three eagles resumed their +circling flight, with their stretched-out wings flashing red in the +light of the setting sun. + + * * * * * + +They had been back in the shelter of the forest for some time now. The +rain, so fine that it seemed to float softly like a watery dust rather +than fall, mingled under the trees with the mist which rose from the +soil to create an atmosphere of damp stagnation. One seemed to breathe +water; and night, which was coming on, darkened the landscape, sucking +the color from everything and turning the surroundings into a dull +uniform sombreness--the end of another gray and sullen day. + +And, suddenly, as the darkness fell over the plateau, Pierre ordered +a halt. They had come, without warning, to the edge of the forest: a +narrow belt of ground, about fifty yards across and covered with short +turf, alone separated it from the sunken canyon. In the open the wind +was whipping the plateau and buffeting it with billowing gusts. + +While the mahouts and guides were busied about their beasts, Lursac and +the missionary walked forward cautiously. On the lip of the crevasse +they bent over, eagerly plunging their eyes into its depths. But they +saw nothing; for the night had taken possession of the precipice and +had made of it a formless and endless gulf, a gigantic pit brimming +with matted shadows. + +They flung themselves down on the ground side by side with their heads +over the edge and listened. No sound came up to them. The missionary +stretched down his arm and fingered the rocky wall below him, feeling +over it carefully: it was hard and cold, cut sheer down through the +rock in a vertical cliff. + +For a long time they remained thus, silent and motionless. The rain +whipped their faces and drenched them to the skin; now and again a +short shiver would shake one of them, while the quick beatings of their +hearts resounded dully against the soil and beat like hammers in their +brains. + +"Nothing! ..." said Pierre. "Nothing! ... emptiness! ... silence!..." + +They were getting ready to rise when the missionary, gripping him +violently by the shoulder, whispered: + +"Opposite ... a little to the left ... lights!" + +Striking through the darkness two luminous points had just become +visible. They seemed far away, against the opposite side of the +crevasse, and diminished by distance they winked feebly in the middle +of a little yellow halo. Then around them other lights sprang up one by +one. Lursac counted seven altogether. + +"The gulf is inhabited," said he. "Without doubt those are the guards +of the entrance." + +The missionary gave a silent laugh. His hand on Pierre's shoulder +trembled and tightened. + +"It is inhabited," said he; "these lights prove it; but one would think +that they were on the wall itself." + +He repeated several times in an absent-minded tone: + +"On the wall itself...." + +Then he added: + +"Caves, doubtless ... perhaps the underground entrances to the +temple ... or perhaps something else!..." + +The extraordinary tone of his voice made Pierre shudder, and he was +just about to question him when a thought suddenly flashed through his +mind. + +"Our own fires!" he murmured. + +And flinging himself backwards he ran as hard as he could towards the +encampment, reaching it just in time to see the first flame spring +up from a pile of leaves and branches around which the mahouts were +crouched. One man bending over the fire was blowing to hasten its +igniting. Pierre with a push shoved him away, and then with great kicks +scattered the brands and beat them out. + +"No fires," said he, "do you hear me? None!" + +The darkness which had thickened around him prevented him seeing the +men, but the noise of torn branches revealed the neighborhood of the +elephants. He called the guides: + +"Ngur and Pâa! Where are you?" + +The two Moïs approached. + +"Here, sahib!" + +Pierre turned to them. + +"You know where the bundle of rope is that we brought with us," he +said; "get it, and meet me at the edge of the crevasse. I will wait for +you there with Father Ravennes." + +Before starting, he flung another order. + +"The mahouts will remain to watch the beasts. I definitely forbid you +to stir from here. Understand that?" + +And without waiting for any answer he set off. + +He found the missionary at the same spot, where he continued to lie +motionless, taking no notice of the return of his companion. Pierre +seized his arm. + +"Come," said he, "we must make up our minds." + +The missionary suddenly came out of his trance. He looked about him and +sighed deeply. + +"Oh!" said he, "you! I was thinking over some means of getting down +there." + +"I only see one," said Pierre. "The cliff goes sheer down. We shall +have to use ropes, so I have ordered the guides to bring them here." + +"Will they be long enough? We know nothing of the height of this wall +of rock." + +"Well," said Pierre, "I shall go on trying. We have at least two +hundred and fifty yards of rope. If there is any need of it we could +tie the lashings of the elephants' pack-saddles to that. That would +give us another fifty yards. Say a total of three hundred...." + +"Yes," said the priest, "that is the best plan; but should we take the +risk of doing it at night?" + +"I say yes," said Pierre. "In daylight we should be discovered +immediately. Once we get down there we can wait for daylight in order +to creep near the caves. In any case I will go first, alone." + +Father Ravennes gave a start. + +"Alone," said he, "what are you talking about? We will go together. +Ngur and Pâa can watch over our descent and draw us up again in case of +need." + +Pierre felt for the missionary's hand and grasped it in silence. + +"Don't thank me," said the priest, disengaging his fingers; and in a +low voice he confessed with a sort of humility mixed with discomfort: + +"You do not know. My attitude during the last days must have seemed +strange to you, very strange. Perhaps there is a good deal of +selfishness in my devotion. I hope, however, that you will pardon me +when ... but that will wait! For the moment understand this: nothing +could make me give up exploring, with you or without you, the bottom of +this fissure." + +He repeated in a louder voice: + +"Nothing ... nothing...." + +"Very well," said Pierre; "we will go down as soon as the guides get +here." + +All that was necessary having been said, they were both silent. + +In the crevasse the seven lights continued to flicker, and, as the +fog thickened about them it enveloped them with halos which minute by +minute became larger and more livid.... + + + + + CHAPTER XVII + + A FREAK OF NATURE + + +Letting down his legs cautiously, Pierre tried the ground. The level +bare soil reassured him: he stood upright. Searching the night with his +glance, he made a few steps before him at random, trying to explore his +surroundings. He realized that he was on a narrow platform of rock; +some thirty yards below he thought he could see the bottom of the +fissure revealed by a dark patch made by a clump of trees. A gentle +slope led down to it. Crouching down, the young man felt the ground +in front of him and found it covered with grass, and here and there +spotted with patches of lichen. He made a gesture of satisfaction: it +would be possible to walk without making a noise. + +Undoing the rope which was round his body under the armpits, he +returned to the foot of the rocky wall. He gave three quick jerks at +equal intervals, the signal agreed upon, and an answer came to him in +a few seconds: three answering jerks, which set the rope swinging, and +while it was being slowly pulled up he leant his back against the wall +of rock and waited. + +The minutes passed. Around him silence reigned; opposite him the fires +continued to burn, but now in order to see them he had to raise his +head, and he estimated at a guess that he must be sixty yards above +the level of the bottom of the crevasse. He also tried to calculate +the height of the rock walls by recalling approximately the time he +had taken in reaching the bottom; but he had no exact idea of the rate +of his descent so that he gave that up. Moreover, violent emotion was +keeping his ideas in a whirl, and although he compelled himself to +remain calm his heart, haunted continually by the image of Wanda, beat +wildly with an irregular feverish rhythm. She was there in the heart +of this rocky mass which contained the temple, and of which these +winking lights certainly indicated the entrance. His hands clenched, +a shivering fit ran through him. How was he going to find her? For he +was now certain of seeing her again. Concerning that he had no doubt +whatever. This certainty had come to him suddenly, and took possession +of him as an article of faith or an instinct which dominated him and +concerning which there could be no argument. He was going to see her +again! soon ... tomorrow ... in a few days perhaps, what would it +matter! He would have again before him her subtle face, her luminous +and tender eyes, her long pale hands and her warm lips, all of those +lineaments, the exact image of which he treasured in the recesses of +his memory. + +A scraping above his head made him raise his eyes. He drove away the +thought-phantom and called softly: + +"Ravennes!" + +The missionary's voice, discreetly muffled, came down to him: + +"Here I am.... But what an oven! I can't see a yard in front of me...." + +Pierre raised his arms and found the legs of the missionary. + +"Let yourself go ... there ... that's right ... you're there." + +Getting rid of the ropes which surrounded him, the priest whispered: + +"Ouf! I thought I should never get here. Do you know how much rope is +left unused up there? Less than thirty yards including the binding +ropes of the elephants' pack-saddles. Two hundred and sixty yards of +perpendicular depth. You were not very far out in your calculations." + +A kind of deep joy seemed to animate him. His voice was full of +restrained vibration. He drew himself up to his full height. Pierre +heard his joints crack; he asked: + +"You have left instructions with Ngur and Pâa?" + +"Yes," said the missionary, "they are to pull up the rope as soon as +I have given them the signal. There, that's done! Their orders are +to remain continually on the edge of the cliff and wait for us. At a +single revolver shot they are to send down the rope: at the second shot +they are to haul it up. The mahouts will help them. That is for the +day-time, but all night, and every night, the rope is to be left down. +Three pulls is a signal that they are to haul up, two pulls, they are +to send down provisions. This is to go on for fifteen days. If between +now and then they have no news of us they are to return to the Post. +They understood thoroughly, and on this point we can remain perfectly +at ease. Anything new on your side?" + +"Nothing," said Pierre. "The bottom of the crevasse lies at the foot of +this short descent. Do you see that clump of trees, there, opposite? I +think that the best thing we could do would be to make for it and wait +for the day there." + +The missionary peered into the darkness. + +"Yes, I am beginning to see a little better ... your advice seems +excellent, let us follow it at once: the dawn will not be long in +breaking." + +With his hand he brushed the rocky wall. + +"Good," said he, "the rope is no longer here. They have begun to pull +it up. Let us start." + +Slowly trying out the ground with every step they made their way down +towards the bottom of the ravine. The wet grass wound round their legs +and made them stumble. The ground sloped gently, regularly, without +obstacles. The thick silence was broken by no creaking of insects, no +rustling of leaves, the air was motionless, heavy and stagnant. + +They reached the threshold of the wood and made their way in. The +darkness became even thicker around them: between the black trunks was +a mass of tangled bushes, making a double layer of vegetation: on the +top the trees with their bushy crowns forming a dome, and below, the +compact undergrowth--a tangle of bushes, interlacing creepers and giant +tree-ferns. + +They advanced with the greatest difficulty, climbing between the bushes +until their faces and their hands were scarred with scratches and the +sweat rolled down them, often mingled with their blood. They took turns +in carrying the bag which contained the three days' provisions which +they had brought down with them from the plateau. From time to time, +Pierre stopped and raised his head looking for the lights in the caves. +And suddenly, as for perhaps the tenth time he searched, he saw them +before him on the right. They had reached the west angle of the wood. + +They stopped there for a considerable time, panting, unable to think, +simply exhausted with the efforts that they had made. + +In front of the thicket, and extending from the wood proper, some +scattered shrubs pushed out. Their shadows made dark patches on the +surface of a swamp, the fog arising from which prevented Lursac and +Father Ravennes from seeing how far it stretched. They could see +nothing whatever of the rest of their surroundings. The fog buried +everything and stretched around the two men a pallid veil only pierced +by the seven fires on the cliff. A faint sweet scent floated in the air. + +Father Ravennes, seated by Pierre, fingered the trunk of a tree. He +pulled off strips of bark and murmuring to himself turned them about +and about. Pierre caught fragments of phrases. + +"Strange!... I should have said it was the smell of the prickly Brazil +tree ... hard, compact tissue ... sugary taste...." + +Pierre saw him searching the ground around him. + +"Flat seed pods, oblong, spongy, four seeds.... It certainly is ... +the Brazil tree ... in the middle of the Moï country! But then? But +then?..." + +He had got up, a prey to violent agitation. + +"What is it?" said Pierre. "What is the matter?" + +The question of the young man seemed to pacify him suddenly. He sat +down again. + +"Ah!" said he, "I have just made a most astounding discovery: a tree +essentially characteristic of the Brazilian flora, here, in Indo-China! +Admit that there is something to be surprised about in that...." + +Pierre, with his eyes passionately fixed on the lights of the cliff, +remained indifferent to this botanical problem. His thoughts, circling +about the caves, awoke in him contradictory and confused ideas, and he +answered absent-mindedly: + +"Truly remarkable!" + +But the vague and careless voice showed no curiosity. Falling back into +their silence they resumed their watch. The damp enwrapped them and +made them shiver from time to time. The fatigue, stillness and silence +weighed heavily upon them. A torpor stole upon them and overcame them. +They slept heavily. + +A shrill cry brought them to their feet at a bound facing each other. +Some time had passed.... Some time ... minutes or hours? They did not +know. + +"Did you hear?" asked Pierre. + +"Yes," said the priest, "it seemed to me...." + +They took a few steps and listened. The silence was unbroken.... +Looking about them they began to distinguish the details of the valley, +above which now floated the dawn. + +The light, clearer each minute, sucked up the fog and dissolved it, +and the surroundings little by little stood revealed. Immediately in +front of them the swamp stretched with its dead waters, its muddy +banks marked out with giant grasses. It appeared large and triangular +in shape, with its sharpest angle pointing towards the wood. Beyond, +rising from the mist the whole depth of the ravine lay visible. Lursac +and the missionary looked at it eagerly. It was very long, longer than +they had believed. The wood in which they were, extended on their +right and joined itself to the edge of a forest of which the dark +solidly-packed frondage, filling the entire width of the valley, ran up +against the cliffs on both sides and lost itself in the distance. On +the left of the marsh spread a great grassy plain, seven or eight miles +in length, dotted with thick copses and bristling with rocky masses: +beyond it, a second forest stretched towards the south, strangled +between the walls of the ravine, which there drew closer together until +its further end was lost to sight beyond a turn in the rock. + +The fog, drawn up by the sun, grew thinner and thinner, and the +cliffs, revealed in their full height, were gradually clothed in the +glory of the warm and luminous morning. Straight and sheer they fell +perpendicularly into the valley, shutting it round with enormous +unscalable walls. A little to the right of the marsh, about two hundred +and fifty yards from the threshold of the first forest, the caves cut +dark mouths in the rock. Pierre counted seven of them, grouped on the +same level, close together. They were all dug in the face of the rock +about fifty yards above the ground, with a gentle grass-covered slope +leading up to them. + +With his face stretched forward, and his eyes fixed eagerly on the +cliff, the priest began to talk to himself. + +"Yes, it's certainly that: Gneiss! ... a solid fragment of a +prehistoric mountain-chain ... a whole block of the land of +Gondwana.... Hairy elephants ... my tree of last night.... _Elephas +primigenius_.... Brazilian tree...." + +He followed Pierre, who had begun to go forward. While advancing, the +young man explained: + +"We will reach the forest and work along the edge of it. Taking +advantage of the cover of the trees, we shall be able, without showing +ourselves, to get near the caves and establish ourselves in their +neighborhood to keep watch over them." + +The missionary mechanically acquiesced. + +"Yes, yes, excellent!" + +But he was not listening. Absorbed in his own thoughts, he pulled +feverishly at his beard. + +"I know that I am not mistaken.... I know it.... Intuition stronger +than reason tells me so. The truth is there, however extraordinary it +may be." + +They had reached the forest. The undergrowth being too scattered to +hide them made it necessary for them to make their way well into it +in order to seek the obscurity of its recesses. And as they pushed +forward, the trees, at first slender, became larger and taller, and +finally enormous, with an entirely changed appearance. The usual +vegetation of the Moï country became rarer, altered in appearance and +soon an entirely new flora, unknown to Pierre, took its place--an +unfamiliar, astounding flora. + +Stammering like a drunken man, Father Revenues named the different +species as he recognized them, and with each one his agitation +increased. He seemed to be struggling against some sort of internal +excitement, and his face reflected a mixture of feelings--joy, terror +and doubt. + +"There ... yes: this enormous bulk of which the rust-covered trunk is +perhaps fifty yards round and whose roots spread out over the soil.--Do +you know what that is? No? A baobab!... Do you hear, Lursac! A baobab! +The _Adamsonia digitata_ of the Soudan, of Darfour and of the Congo; +the tree of such long life that it requires from six to ten thousand +years to attain its full growth! And there ... there, on the right, +that other giant, a mammoth among trees, a _Wellingtonia gigantea_, an +extinct species which is preserved only in California on the Sierra +Nevada where Lobb discovered them quite recently. This one is at least +from four to five thousand years old ... and then look again further +along. Yes, that one that looks like a palm tree with all its branches +terminating in bunches of fleshy leaves stretched up towards the sky: a +_Dracæna draco_ of the Canary Islands, a dragon tree, a more beautiful +one and huger even than the specimen at Orotava, celebrated as that is +for its size and its age: seven to eight thousand years!... Here again +this shrub, an Australian _Banksia_!..." + +He had caught Pierre by the arm, and was shaking him as he dragged him +from one tree to another. He trembled, patting the wrinkled trunks and +caressing them: the excitement which was stirring his whole being broke +out in jumbled words, in short confused and unfinished phrases. He +jumped from one idea to another in a whirl of excitement. + +"Well, what have you got to say about it? Astounding, isn't it? Here +in the middle of Indo-China, in the Moï country, at the bottom of this +ravine, gathered side by side, not as fossils but alive, thoroughly +alive ... specimens of Brazilian flora, trees of Africa, of America, +of Australia and even of the Canary Islands! ... growing together as +they did formerly ... as they did forty or fifty thousand years ago and +perhaps very much earlier[15] when the remains of the great equatorial +continent of Gondwana were still in being and the Brazilian-African +plateau united in a single mass Central America, Africa, India, Arabia, +Indo-China and Australia ... there is the _only_ explanation!... The +explanation which several days ago I foresaw and had to face." + +[Footnote 15: Father Ravennes was considerably out in his estimate. +The continent of Gondwana of which he spoke dates from the first part +of the secondary era in which the great Hercynian upheaval took place. +The discovery of radium has given us a method of establishing the +distance of that era from our time as about four million years. If we +admit then that the Gondwana ravine discovered by Lursac and Ravennes +only dated from the end of the secondary era it would be separated from +the present day by the entire tertiary era and the beginning of the +quaternary era in which we now are. According to the calculations of +Dana, of Lord Kelvin and of Edmond Perrier, the tertiary era and what +has elapsed of the quaternary make a total of at least one million five +hundred thousand years.] + +Violently he dug his heel into the ground. + +"And now it forces itself upon us, bewilderingly, blindingly! However +fantastic that may seem, this ground that we are standing on is the +same--yes, the very same--as that which in the great geographical +periods of the globe cradled the germs of life. We are mounting to +the first ages of the world ... we are living backwards ... a great +fragment of the past has risen before us, uncovering for us the first +hours of Genesis!" + +Pierre listened to him with bewilderment. + +"The ancient strata of the secondary era," continued the missionary, +"pushed aside by the Hercynian movement, and then later by the +Alp-Himalayan upheaval, broke up and disappeared; but a vertical crack +must have been produced here which the upheavals of succeeding times +have left untouched, while around it the great secular changes have +worn down mountain summits, parted continents, and dug the seas. This +cleft in the rocks, preserved by I know not what mysterious destiny, +has remained intact and been preserved unchanged!..." + +He remained where he stood, turning round and round and stamping on the +ground. Pierre took him by the arm and drew him aside. + +"Come on," said he. "We have no time to lose if we want to reach the +neighborhood of the caves before night." + +The missionary followed him with docility. They continued their +advance. The heat increased and became overwhelming. About midday +they halted and hurriedly ate a few biscuits, resuming their journey +immediately. They walked side by side without a word and finally it was +Pierre who, after a long while, first broke the silence: + +"Are you quite sure of that?" he asked. + +The priest showed no surprise. He understood that the same thoughts +were working in Pierre as in himself. + +"Well," he confined himself to saying, "you have seen as much as I +have!" + +But as the young man made a vague gesture he immediately said: + +"I know, I know.... Someone may have planted them, or at least have +brought the seeds here. That is your idea!... You see that has already +suggested itself to me. I thought of that at once when I found the +Brazil tree ... as for that ... it was possible ... but for these +others, the age of which varies from six to ten thousand years? The +others! The baobabs ... the dragon-trees ... what does that lead to?... +Who could have worked to make a sort of botanical garden in this +out-of-the-way corner, a kind of forcing-bed for the flora of five +continents? No, we are actually on the very land of Gondwana, on the +ancient secondary soil." + +A shudder shook him: his eyes flashed. + +"And I am thinking," said he eagerly, "about the beings who have +certainly lived here, of the monstrous reptiles and the prodigious +birds that came from it, of the huge mammals and of all the crowd of +gigantic beasts which today have disappeared!" + +He gave a peculiar smile and continued immediately: + +"Disappeared?... Not all of them! ... the invisible herd on the banks +of the creek which prowled round our camp on the evening of our first +arrival, that herd, one of the members of which Ngur described to me as +an elephant with long hair and a mane, was nothing else than a herd of +mammoths!" + +A cry of stupefaction escaped from the young man: + +"Living mammoths? You are crazy!" + +The priest did not flinch. Quite calmly he assented. + +"That's exactly what I said to myself when the thought came to me the +first time with a shock.... I did not want to believe it.... I took +it for granted that there must be a race of elephants as yet unknown. +Then other ideas came to me which had already been rising obscurely at +the back of my brain, other ideas which my successive discoveries have +clarified and confirmed...." + +"Other ideas?" said Pierre. "What ones?" + +The missionary gave him a long look. He hesitated; then shook his head +in token of refusal. + +"No, don't ask me! In two cases already you have questioned me and +each time I have asked you to wait: this will be the last time. Have +patience yet for a few hours. I do not want to speak before being +certain of what I say. I don't mind your believing me crazy! To change +the subject, here we are at the end of the forest, and the further +cliffs are before us. We have therefore crossed the entire width of the +ravine. Now the question is to get near the caves." + +Pierre turned about. Before them, running along almost at the foot +of the cliff a hollow way under the trees stretched in a southerly +direction. They turned and followed it. It wandered about, making sharp +curves, going round swampy spots and avoiding rocky masses overgrown +and buried in vegetation. Little by little the trees began to get +smaller and shorter and thinned out. The path broadened and finally +came to an end in an open circle surrounded by trees. Between the slim +trunks they could see that the day was beginning to fade. + +The two men hurried on. The tree-trunks became fewer and more +scattered; masses of bushes succeeded to them. Gliding between these, +Lursac and Father Ravennes came out opposite the left bank of the +swamp. The failing light threw a mantle of softness over the valley, +above which the clouds and mists stretched to the level plateau +forming, as it were, a fleecy and delicate tent. The scene which they +had observed at dawn they now saw from another angle. The marsh was not +as big as they had thought it. Between it and the cliff in which the +caves were a grassy way stretched as far as the plain: beyond that the +second forest stood in a compact mass. Looking back, Pierre saw on his +left the edge of the wood which they had quit some hours earlier. At +the same time he made out the cliff down which they had come. + +A hoarse cry suddenly forced itself from his throat. + +"The scream ... the scream this morning!" He pointed out the wall of +rock against which, halfway up, two corpses attached to a rope, _their_ +rope doubtless, were hanging. + +The missionary looked back swiftly and his face seemed to shrivel, it +went white and his lips trembled. + +"Ngur and Pâa," he murmured almost in a whisper. + +The breeze, forerunner of the evening dusk, began to blow, making the +trees rustle; while against the gray rock wall the naked bodies of the +two guides swung gently. Above them on the edge of the plateau three +elephants of gigantic proportions were walking in file; and against the +mauve background of the sky their hairy bulk and their curved tusks +showed up with extraordinary distinctness. + +The missionary stretched his hand towards them. + +"Mammoths!" said he, in a voice strangely calm. + +But Pierre saw his hand tremble. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + BACK IN THE STONE AGE + + +Lursac, the first to turn away his head, touched Father Ravennes' arm. + +"We no longer have any choice," he said. "If we wish to get out of here +we shall have to find our way up to the temple, or at any rate climb +one of the cliffs." + +The missionary reluctantly turning from his contemplation of the +mammoths shook his head. + +"No," said he, "they are all smooth and absolutely unscalable." + +"Then it remains to discover this entrance." + +"I have thought of that," said the priest, "but...." + +"But?" questioned Pierre. + +"What can we hope from that?... Think of it, Lursac, we are two and +they, up there in the temple...." + +The young man shrugged his shoulders with restrained impatience: + +"Have you another plan to propose to me?" he broke in. + +And as the missionary shook his head, he went on bitterly: + +"And in any case that's the only chance that we have of finding Wanda, +perhaps of saving her...." + +He looked at the priest and repeated still more forcibly: + +"We must find the entrance to the temple and manage to get in somehow. +After that, it is in the hands of God!" + +The missionary saw him make a gesture which spoke of both resolution +and despair. + +"So be it!" said he. "According to the directions of Hmon, the +sanctuary faced towards the Post, and consequently to the south. As we +have come on it from behind, it is there, towards the south, that we +shall find it." + +He stretched his hand in front of him towards the extremity of the +ravine which an angle in one of the cliffs prevented them from seeing. + +"And what about the caves?" asked Pierre, surprised, "I thought--as you +did for the matter of that...." + +"No," said the priest, "no, I have come to a different conclusion since +then...." + +He hesitated, and his voice took on a peculiar intonation while he +added: + +"The caverns are used for ... something else ... at least I think +so.... Look!" + +Together they raised their heads in the direction of the dark openings. +They were not now more than a hundred yards from them and they could +distinguish details clearly. + +The darkness which was gathering prevented their seeing into the +interiors, but each of the caves had in front of it a platform with +a gentle grassy slope leading down to the valley. The mouths of the +caves, cut roughly and irregularly into the rock, remained empty and no +sound or sign of life gave token that they were inhabited. + +Slowly the dusk fell. Little by little the surroundings lost their +distinctness: the ceiling of fog began to flow downward between the +cliffs, while above the two forests at each end of the great depression +and over the surface of the swamp a fine mist floated and spread. From +the opposite end of the valley a confused murmuring arose. Astonished, +the missionary looked across the marsh and searched the plain. By +turns, visible and disappearing among the clumps of trees, he could see +a brown spot. At the same time the noise which had surprised him became +more distinct. It was a heavy beating of the ground like a hurried +stamping of a herd in flight. He touched Pierre's arm. Both of them +gazed eagerly. The spot grew larger, came nearer, and disappeared into +a streak of fog and reappeared suddenly at the corner of a copse. + +"Buffaloes!" whispered Pierre. + +The missionary made no answer. + +The herd was hurrying across the plain. Following the bank of the marsh +opposite which it had debouched from the wood, it gained the grassy +runway, spread along the bottom of the cliff and passed in front of the +caves. The hammering hoofs mingled in a frenzied rush. The troop of +over two hundred beasts tore along with their heads lowered, and the +tall grasses mowed down by their weight were torn apart and trodden +into the ground. The herd was rushing straight for the forest in which +the two men were hiding. Now the animals could be seen with clearness +and the priest shot a glance at Pierre as he corrected him: + +"Buffaloes? No,--aurochs!" + +The beasts galloping side by side in thick ranks formed a single brown +mass. Leading the herd, a great male bounded along, holding his horns +high and bellowing furiously. He passed in front of Lursac and the +missionary, bearing away slightly to the right. His left haunch was +bleeding; three arrows were sticking up to the heads in his tawny hide; +in his withers, swinging at every bound, they could see the handle of +a great axe sticking out. In a second he was buried in the shadows of +the forest, and behind him with the rush of an avalanche the entire +herd swept under the trees breaking down the bushes, tearing the +thickets apart and smashing everything in their way. In another minute +the thunder of their flight, mixed with bellowings, was separated from +the observers by a screen of leaves and gradually faded away into the +distance leaving silence behind it. + +Father Ravennes recalled to his mind the great male who had charged +galloping at the head of the herd, his vast size, his long legs, the +crinkled hair of his head and neck, his great wicked-looking muzzle, +his low-lying horns. + +"Yes, ..." said he, "aurochs! The giant bulls of the quaternary epoch, +of which the entire species is now extinct...." + +"Ah!" said Pierre, "the hunters! What of the hunters! You saw the +arrows, the axe?..." + +The missionary gave him a quick look and turned round towards the +plains. + +"The hunters?" said he. "Well, look, there they are!" + +Sudden emotion seemed to overcome him, his features were strained into +an expression of intense expectation. + +In his turn, Pierre turned to look. + +At first he only saw a number of small dark specks, scarcely visible, +which moved at the end of the valley and gradually came closer until +they formed a single group which moved towards the marsh. Following the +passage torn by the herd of aurochs a few moments before, they came +along slowly and still without any regular formation. They reached +the swamp and followed along the bank. The mist which floated on the +waters prevented the watchers from seeing them clearly. They finally +arrived at the entrance of the grassy runway and Pierre began to be +able to see them better. There were about forty of them, divided in +three groups following close after one another. First of all, alone, +walking with great steps, was a Man. It was upon him that Lursac and +the missionary's attention became concentrated. + +Night was falling; a dusk of luminous mauve enwrapped the scene, +flinging over everything a veil of indefiniteness and beauty. The +entire plain, with its forests sunk in the shadows of the distance, +with its gray walls and it green grasses and the silvery surface of +its swampy lake, gave the impression of a picture harmoniously and +cunningly put together by some classic artist. + +On the background of this sylvan scene the Man advanced. Soon he was +within three hundred yards of them, ... two hundred. His outline, +an outline of strength, tall and vigorous, became larger and more +distinct. Certain details standing out little by little from the +vagueness caught the attention. First of all his raiment; a simple +animal skin with long brown fur, shaped like a chasuble, which fell +down to the middle of his thighs and was bound to him by a cord; then +his weapons--a heavy club which he balanced on his bare arm, a lance on +which he leant now and again with his left hand. + +The hunter was by this time at the foot of the caves scarcely one +hundred yards away from the missionary and Lursac. They saw him in +profile. He had stopped, apparently waiting for the rest of the troop +to come up. He lifted his arm and made a sign, and his call mounted in +the silence: + +"_O ... ô ... iê ... êp ... iê ... ê ... êp._" + +He turned slowly, and his face became visible; red-skinned, crude, +large and low-browed, with high cheek bones and eyes deeply set--a face +simple and uncivilized with something savage and yet sweet in it at +the same time, a fierce and powerful face, framed in long reddish hair +falling to the shoulders.... + +The missionary seized the young man by the arm, gripping him with +almost painful violence: + +"The quaternary man ... the ancestor of the human race. The man of +Cro-Magnon and of Mentone ... alive! ... alive!..." + +He trembled; his voice, hardly understandable, seemed to scrape his +throat painfully. He gave the young man no time to give vent to his +astonishment; he went on: + +"Yes ... you heard correctly.... I am not drunk! ... this is not a +nightmare.... The Red Gods: a clan of prehistoric men who continue to +lead here in this deep recess which walls them in from the rest of the +world the same life that they have lived for thirty thousand years, +and everything is explained. The mystery with which the sorceresses +envelop this region, the death with which they strike those who wish +to penetrate it, the flint arms which bestrew the entire district, the +legend of the Living Gods, everything! ... everything!..." + +"But," said Pierre. + +"I am sure of it ... sure of it ... I suspected it long ago. The whole +thing, tangled and obscure, has been turning over and over in my mind +for some time. When I heard Hmon pronounce those words: the Red +Gods ... the Red Ones,[16] that is to say the earliest ... yes ... at +that moment I began to.... However, I was doubtful. It appeared to +me so fantastic that I did not, could not believe it. I looked for +some other explanation. But now the truth is standing there before +me. However incredible it is, I cannot disbelieve it. You have seen +the face of the Man. He belongs to no existing race. His appearance +is neither that of a Moï, a Chinese, a Lao-ese nor yet of a European. +These features are those of the primitive Mongoloids, of the primeval +ancestors of the human race." + +[Footnote 16: Father Ravennes was here making allusion to the +traditions of antiquity which are all agreed on the existence of a +prehistoric race called the Red Race which must have been the first +human race. This Red Race was that of the masters, the Gods. The +Egyptian bas-reliefs show (writes M. Michel Manzi in a remarkable +scientific work) that there were then four races, the red, the +yellow, the black and the white. In India the famous Rutas who are +traditionally supposed to have brought civilization to the world are +represented as red men. All the most ancient peoples, the Iberians, +Basques, Chaldeans, etc., claimed to have been of this color and to be +descended from the sons of Ad the first man, the Red. The word Adam +indeed means Red Man.... The Arabs also claim descent from the sons of +Ad, the great antediluvian race, the race of giants who erected vast +buildings of hewn stone.] + +An immense joy had taken possession of the soul of the scientist. He +raised his head proudly, his voice filled out with sonorous resonance. + +"This extraordinary thing _we_ have been the first to see. It is we, +Lursac, _we_ who have made this astounding discovery. All the old +disputes of the schools, all the theories about which the seeker and +scientist argue, the great problem of the origin of humanity--we have +found their solution! We!... We!..." + + * * * * * + +Meanwhile the tribe had begun the ascent of the slope leading to the +caves. The hunter with the club walked at their head. Behind him +came eight men carrying on their shoulders a litter made of leaves +and branches. On it lay the body of an animal. Of its monstrous bulk +nothing could be seen but one of its enormous black hairy paws which +hung over the side of the improvised stretcher and swayed gently with +the motion of its carriers. + +Then in a compact group the other hunters followed slowly. The sound +of their voices could be heard, now and again dominated by a high +guttural note. They were all armed with lance and pointed axe, and +all alike clad in dark reddish furs. Their faces all showed the same +characteristic features, and were framed by the same long red hair +which fell round their shoulders in bright tawny locks. + +Although they were of a stature well above the normal, they seemed less +finely built and less harmoniously developed in every way than the Man +who walked at their head and was evidently their chief. At a sign from +him they stopped. + +With his face turned towards the cave's opening, about fifty yards +ahead of him, the hunter once again emitted his hoarse cry: + +"_O ... ô ... iê ... êp._..." + +And after him the men took up the call and sent it ringing across the +valley. For a moment they all stood motionless, faces turned towards +the platforms of the caves. Already the night was stealing along the +cliffs. The dark mouth of the caverns became indistinct and only the +narrow platforms which stood in front of them still caught a little +light from the bluish dusk. + +There was silence. Then other voices thinner and less strong, worn +voices of old men, clear high voices of women and children sounded +through the valley: + +"_O ... ô ... iê ... êp._..." + +Dark forms swarming out of the caves ran on to the platforms and leaned +over. A few of them separated from the mass and began to descend to +meet the men. A last ray of light shone slanting on the little hill. +The troop of men had resumed their march. The darkness thickened, their +silhouettes became indistinct. On the shoulder of the hill the ray of +light narrowed and retreated. The chief of the clan first, and after +him the body of the hunters, reached it and passed through it, and +their slow procession crossing through the pencil of pale gold again +went into the darkness; while before the caverns the fires, lighting up +one by one, pierced the obscurity with their seven-fold spears of red +light. + + + + + CHAPTER XIX + + OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE + + +The two white men were overcome with a feeling of stupefaction. + +The night, bitter cold, descended upon them and chilled their bodies, +but they did not feel the bite of the cold: they could think of nothing +but watching. Settled on the platforms the tribe was taking its +evening meal. Before the fire silhouettes were ranged like phantoms, +and their shadows, grotesquely exaggerated, were flung against the +rock, where they jerked about and disappeared suddenly with enormous +gestures and fantastic distortions. A smell of roasting flesh floated +down the valley in thick waves. Now and again a body, elongated by the +flickering light of the fires, appeared momentarily, and the brown fur +with which he was clothed shone out for a second with a bizarre effect. +The hunters were grouped round the fires in bands of six; some women, +a dozen or so of children and some old men joined them. Behind them +yawned the caverns. From time to time could be heard the crackling of +a stick in the fires or the snapping of a bone under the blows of a +hatchet. + +When the meal was over the feasters gave themselves up to a period +of relaxation. The tribe, gorged with food and stupefied by the heat +of the fires, lay lounging about the platforms. Men's voices, rough +and monotonous, rose and fell. They spoke little, accompanying their +short phrases with gestures and signs. Here and there a laugh rang +out and echoed in crude and guttural tones against the cliff. In a +corner of the nearest platform near the opening of the cave the skin +of the beast, the flesh of which had provided the feast, was drying, +stretched out on four stakes with its head hanging down. In the clear +light of the fires it stood out distinctly. The missionary examined +with profound interest the enormous black hairy pelt. The massive skull +surmounted by a rounded forehead accentuated by two great lumps, the +gaping muzzle with its formidable teeth left no doubt in his mind. + +"_Ursus spelæus_--the cave bear," he whispered, "the usual prey of +primitive man, and the one of which most bones have been found in the +caves of Aurignac, of Sainte-Reine, of Fontaine, of Moutier and of +Lhern. + +The old men, the women and children, now rising, went back into their +caverns. A youngster, before disappearing, stopped for a moment in +front of the skin and amused himself by banging the heavy muzzle with +slaps of his open hand. The enormous snout thus put into motion began +to swing backwards and forwards, while at each stroke a drop of blood +fell, which the child caught in mid-air in the palm of his hand and +licked up. + +A sharp command sounded from the group of men, and the youngster +stopped his game, hastened into the cave and was lost to sight. + +Left alone, the hunters spread round the fires prolonged their session. +From time to time one of them would rise, draw his powerful body erect +and give a long stretch, then sitting down once more would stretch his +hands towards the flame. Others worked: a round stone in their heavy +hands, and another piece of stone between their knees, they shaped the +flint by little precise, minute blows, at which, sparking, the chips +flew up and scattered around the workman. Now and again, neglecting +their task for a minute, they lifted their heads and looked down into +the bottom of the ravine. At such moments their faces, lit up with the +red gleams of the fires, revealed themselves as primitive and violent. + +Two hours passed thus; then as the fog became denser they shook +themselves one by one and disappeared into their caves. + +The empty platforms suddenly seemed larger: the fires, piled up for the +night, shot their lights higher and further before the caverns: their +circles of purple light were the only things left to watch throughout +the night. + + * * * * * + +They waited another hour, then Lursac, turning towards the priest, said: + +"They must be asleep now ... let us go on." + +They began to move forward cautiously, and stole along the foot of +the cliff. Keeping under cover of the shadows at its base they passed +quickly in front of the caves and gained the shelter of the grassy +passage. They worked in the direction of the plain and the further +forest: the grasses among which they slowly forced their way came up to +their waists and their clothes were soon nothing but wet, cold sheaths +bound tight against their bodies. + +At last they reached the plain, and the going became easier and faster. +When they turned their heads from time to time they could see behind +them like a long silvered plaque, each time a little smaller and less +distinct, the motionless surface of the marsh, and on the left, high +up, the seven fires marking the entrance to the caverns. In front of +them the threshold of the wood towards which they were moving became +clearer every moment, and between the cliffs which were beginning to +close in towards each other the darkness seemed denser and denser. + +Pierre walked ahead. With an instinctive motion, thinking of the skin +of the cave-bear killed by the clan, he loosened his revolver in its +holster and pulled it out when they found themselves among the first +trees of the forest. However, this second forest proved to be less +dense than the one which they had crossed in the morning, and it was +seamed with long tracks, narrow paths it is true, but quite possible +to follow. One of them bearing somewhat to the right followed close +to the base of the cliff. This one they took. As near as they were +able to make it out, it ran in a southerly direction following closely +the very juts and hollows of the cliff. They followed it for a long +time. Occasionally the flight of some invisible animal, an unknown +roaring, or a cry which they did not recognize made them stop. At other +times the bushes thrust apart by the passage of some animal that they +could not see crashed together loudly, the noise being magnified by +the stillness of the night, and they stood rooted to the spot until +the noises ceased. The alarm past, they pursued their way. Fatigue, +however, began to weigh on their limbs and to cloud their minds. As +they walked their motions became no more than a succession of automatic +movements. The dark, however, now became less opaque and a diffused +light began to flow between the leaves. Raising their heads in the +middle of a clearing, they saw above them, bound in a watery halo, a +dull reddish moon swimming in the sky. A few minutes afterwards they +stopped. The forest had come to an end. Between it and the extremity of +the ravine a belt of ground studded with low bushes sloped gradually +upward and terminated in a dark line which seemed to be that of a +foundation wall, above which, rising to about half the height of the +cliffs against which their irregular mass was silhouetted, buildings +arose. Against the grayish sky, roofs could be seen in profile, and +springing above them, still higher and more clearly visible, the +pointed shadows of four towers in a circle. + +"The temple!" whispered Pierre. + +Without making any answer the priest continued his advance. Gliding +from bush to bush they made their way up towards the buildings and +reached a sort of long, narrow platform. Before them in the solid +shadow stretched a heaped-up mass of rocks. + +Father Ravennes looked up; the roofs seemed far above him. + +"Let us rest till daylight," he advised, sitting down. + +Pierre assented. An immense fatigue gnawed at his powers of endurance. +His arms and legs were stiff with strain and his heavy lids weighed +upon his eyes. He flung himself down on the ground and stretched out +alongside of the missionary. + +For a moment his mind remained sentient and he began to make plans and +to consider chances for the rescue of Wanda. + +The temple, swathed in darkness, seemed deserted. There was no noise, +no light. The moon, covered with a blanket of clouds, disappeared, and +suddenly the darkness became thicker yet. + +The cry of an owl somewhere in the direction of the forest rang through +the night, and from the sallow down-bearing sky a cold mist floated. + +Overpowered by exhaustion, Pierre fell asleep. The priest bent over +him. Twisted in an uncomfortable position, his face creased with +nervous lines, the young man began talking out loud in his sleep, +and his incoherent words as well as his panting breath revealed +the nightmare from which he was suffering. In his fevered brain +recollections, images drawn from the depths of his memory--his arrival +at the Post, the course of the expedition--were mixed with visions +called up by Father Ravennes: the continent of Gondwana and its +vanished fauna; its prehistoric inhabitants; giant trees of Africa, +Australia, America; the aurochs; the death of Ngur and Pâa, fantastic +silhouettes of the temple; the sorceresses; Jieng, the mammoths--were +all tangled together to form a grotesque and disordered circle turning +about one clear central figure that dominated them, that of Wanda. + +The missionary, perceiving how he suffered, thought of waking him; but +he shook his head: + +"What is the good?" he murmured. "There is nothing to do now but to +have patience; and however tormented his sleep is, it will at any rate +enable him to gather a little strength!" + +Thoughtfully he watched the sombre mass of the buildings stretching +upwards in the darkness. The cold made him shiver, so he got up and +walked a while along the platform. Then he came back to his place by +Lursac, and sitting with his back against a rock he took his rosary and +slowly began to recite the prayers. + + + + + CHAPTER XX + + INSIDE THE TEMPLE + + +The dawn awoke Pierre with a start. He shivered and looked round him +with an empty stare. Then, memory coming back to him suddenly, he got +up and his eyes sought Father Ravennes but did not find him. + +Beginning to be uneasy he called out: + +"Ravennes!" + +"Here.... Come to me." + +Turning his head in the direction of the voice he saw the priest +who, hidden between two lumps of rock some twenty yards to the left, +was beckoning to him. Rapidly the young man crawled to his side and +crouched down next to him. + +The missionary explained: + +"We are at the very base of the temple. Turn slightly to the right ... +yes, there it is.... As an observation post we could not have thought +of anything better than this. Now be silent and let us watch...." + +Pierre asked: + +"Nothing has stirred?" + +"Nothing," said the missionary. + +Carefully lifting his head Pierre looked round the scene. Day was +coming--a dull, unpleasant day, shrouded in a thick fog through which +the light could only penetrate very slowly. As the mist rose, the end +of the ravine revealed itself. First of all, the rocky mass on which +the temple was built became visible. Enormous blocks of stone heaped +together rose towards the sky and at each side reached the very walls +of the fissure which they here filled entirely. The ravine at this +point was no more than a gorge, three hundred yards across, deeply +overshadowed by its vertical walls. Out of this chaotic pile of rock +the foundations of the temple rose. They gripped and mixed themselves +with the stone, completing its rugged outline, and carrying it upwards +with the very same rough gray exterior, so that in places Lursac could +not even distinguish where the rock ended and the building began. + +Gradually, as the mist lifted higher, the two men were able to perceive +a dozen doors let into the stone at regular intervals in the foundation +wall. The ensemble of the buildings, however, remained still invisible. +For some little while longer they continued to be hidden; then a shaft +of sunlight drove its way through the mist and splashed the cliff on +the right with light. The mist drew away and the entire temple stood +revealed before them little by little. First of all the four towers +of unequal height, built up in tiers, and together resembling one of +those slender tiaras worn by Cambodian and Siamese idols; then the +long, irregular, clear line of the roofs, and finally the gigantic and +wonderful façade, ornamented with porticoes, broken with chapels and +pierced by innumerable windows all barred with rows of small columns. + +The voice of the priest trembled with emotion. + +"A Kmer temple," said he. "_The_ Temple ... purer in style and more +magnificent than Angkor-Wat itself, and certainly more ancient!" + +He had stood up and was staring at the enormous building framed between +the cliffs of the ravine: + +"One hundred and fifty yards high.... Prodigious!" + +Forgetful of the place and of the circumstances, remembering no longer +their danger or the sorceresses or Wanda, he gave himself up to the +pride of his discovery, to the admiration which overcame him. He almost +laughed. + +"Yes.... _The_ Temple! The model, the jewel, the original which those +that came after copied ... and that in the depths of the Lao-ese +forest, among peoples as uncivilized and as primitive as the beasts! +Well, then? Who undertook this gigantic and surpassing work.... Who ... +and why _here_? I...." + +He was suddenly silent. Pierre, pushing him back, whispered in his ear: + +"Quiet! Be silent!..." + +The priest saw him point with his finger towards the forest, on the +edge of which a human being had just become visible. He was strangely +clothed in a brown fur which covered his shoulders and waved about his +figure. On his head was set the muzzle of an ox surmounted with horns +curved in the form of a lyre. The man, walking along the edge of the +wood, reached the foot of the wall, then he crossed the narrow belt of +ground and came to the rocks. Standing upright on one of them he raised +his head towards the façade of the sanctuary. + +He was scarcely thirty yards from Lursac and Ravennes, and against the +gray front of the temple his figure was silhouetted with precision. He +was very tall, with astonishingly long legs, a narrow waist and large, +strong shoulders. Turning towards the plain, he first of all watched +the forest; then his glance slid along the cliff and came back to the +buildings, ran over them rapidly and then fixed itself on one of the +windows. He cried with a ringing, and surprisingly sweet, voice: + +"_O ... ô ... iê ... iêp...._" + +Pierre and the missionary recognized him at the same moment: the hunter +with the club, the chief who had marched at the head of the clan on +their return from the hunt on the evening before. + +Suddenly he dashed forward and began to climb the stony blocks. He +mounted towards the temple by supple and accurate leaps, bounding from +one stone to the other and walking with long strides when the ground +permitted it. Each one of his movements and of his attitudes gave a +curious impression of strength and grace. He suggested one of those +great animals of the cat tribe, fierce and full of vital strength at +the same time: his powerful muscular body had the same sinuous movement +combined with suddenness of action, the same sure and silent footfall. + +He was now at the very foot of the temple. In front of him stood the +foundation, with its rugged wall broken by the line of doorways; +further up, on a jutting balcony, was another row of doors, of which +each one was flanked by a window barred with small columns. + +The Man looked at them carefully. He seemed to hesitate. Then deciding, +he climbed the whole height of the foundation-wall. The irregularities +of the stone which he gripped with his feet, his hands and his knees, +were worn in places and gave way under him; but with a twist of his +body he balanced himself afresh and continued to mount. At last he +reached the cornice and drew himself up on it, and then ran along the +narrow balcony, coming to a stop towards the middle of the façade under +one of the windows. + +Standing on tiptoes he raised his arms, seized the auroch's skin by +the horns with which his head was ornamented, and with a sweeping +gesture of one who makes an offering, he hung it up on a jutting piece +of stone. Then he remained motionless, his face pressed against the +columns of the window. + +Lursac and Ravennes had breathlessly watched his ascent. With their +eyes fixed on the opening under which the brown auroch's pelt was now +hanging, they noticed with astonishment its extraordinary appearance. +It was surrounded with peculiar offerings, great aurochs' muzzles, +heads of stags, skins of enormous bears, bunches of half-faded flowers, +bundles of fruit, barbaric collars of wild beasts' claws, and in an +angle, set on the same support, a comb of honey from which bright +yellow tears of juice were dropping. Pierre and the missionary looked +at one another, the same question came to their minds: what was this +strange worship? To whom was it addressed? These Red Gods, these +prehistoric men miraculously preserved and perpetuated, these Gods +which were worshipped, did they in their turn worship Something or +Somebody? + +With a shake of his head the priest signified the impossibility of +solving the problem. + +In any case they had not the time to think of it very much longer. +The Man up there abandoned his position of contemplation, and their +attention was once again concentrated on him. Without giving himself +the trouble to climb down the whole height of the foundations, he +calculated for a moment, leaped, and covering the ten feet or so which +the wall measured, he recovered himself by a simple bending of the +knees. Then, once again turned towards the buildings, he looked at the +strange window. After which he set out towards the valley, disappeared +between the rocky blocks and reappeared further off at the top of a +rounded granite mass, ran down towards the plain, crossed it hurriedly +and re-entered the forest. + +The sun, by this time already hot, had dissipated the fog. Lursac +pointed out to the priest the dozen doors set in the wall. + +"There is the way we must enter the temple," said he. + +With a nod the priest assented. + +"Yes, we must try and force one of them at random, it doesn't matter +which! Look, this one, which is opposite to us." + +They had now risen and, in their turn hiding themselves as much as +possible in their ascent, they climbed towards the temple. + +A mass of granite formed a sort of narrow parapet in front of the door +and on it they stopped bewildered: in the stupendous wall they could +see the door in its doorway and it was half open. Pierre pushed it +gently, and with his revolver drawn ready to fire entered it. Behind +him, the missionary followed. + + * * * * * + +Thick gloom and clammy cold struck them in the face and clung to them +as they entered. They shivered. Motionless, with every faculty on the +stretch, they waited and listened. The heavy damp silence reassured +them. The missionary struck a match. With a dry scratch the tiny flame +ignited, lighting up dimly the rocky walls and discovering to them, +close by the door by which they had entered, a tripod with its bundle +of resinous branches and dry leaves prepared for lighting. + +"Wait," said Pierre, "I will shut the door, then we will set fire to +this." + +A few minutes later, by the light of the fire they were able to examine +the cell in which they found themselves. It turned out to be square and +disproportionately high, practically forming a cube. The walls were +gray, on the floor of beaten earth a lance and some hatchets with heavy +flint heads were lying about. On one side was the door by which they +had made their entrance: on the opposite side, a gallery was visible, +separated from the cell by a row of columns set close together and +reaching from the ground to the vaulted ceiling: on the left a stone +wall: on the right a second wall, but pierced by another door, heavy +and re-inforced with metal work, and furnished with a heavy iron lock. +Pierre, going up to it looked at it closely, felt it and tried with the +help of his pocketknife to make it work. The bolt of the lock rattled +and moved. He tried harder, but the blade of his knife broke with a +snap and he gave a growl of fury. + +"Curse it!... One must use violence. So much the worse, but we have no +choice." + +He flung a look round and noticed the axes. But already the missionary, +bending down, had picked one up. He swung it about for a moment and +fitted the haft of it well into his hand. + +Advancing, he pushed Pierre on one side. + +"As soon as the door gives way," he said, "we will rush through. The +main hall must be far enough away for us not to be heard. Anyhow we +have no other way of doing it. Are you ready?" + +He drew up his great body, raised his arms to their full height and +then heavily brought the club down with his full strength. The lock +rang and sparks flew, while fragments of the flint were scattered +around. Without waiting, he repeated the action several times in +succession with his full strength. Under the echoing vault the noise of +the blows was magnified and made a shattering noise. The lock, injured +and finally broken, gave way revealing its mechanism. With a last blow, +which shattered the wood around it, he made it leap from the door. +Flinging the axe behind him, the missionary, with a violent blow of his +shoulder, pushed back the heavy door and flung himself forward followed +by Pierre. The flickering light of the fire lighted up the entrance +of a subterranean passage. They could distinguish the first steps of +a narrow stairway of which the rest was lost in the darkness. They +commenced to climb it cautiously and soon the shadows closed around +them. The priest mounted slowly, trying the ground at each step. His +hands stretched out before him, Pierre, his revolver ready to fire, +counted the steps one by one. + +"Eight ... nine ... ten ... eleven...." + +"Lursac!" + +The sharp call brought the young man to a sudden standstill; he cried +excitedly: + +"Ravennes!" + +The cry of the priest, now indistinct, came twice more. + +"Lursac!... Lursac!..." + +Pierre ran forward and crashed into and thrust aside invisible forms. +He heard the labored breathing of Father Ravennes, and a warning voice: + +"Look out!... We are attacked!... Try to...." + +At the same time, pushing on him from all directions, a mass of bodies +suddenly materializing out of the night flung itself upon him, carried +him off his feet and overthrew him. His head wrapped in a thick cloth, +his legs encircled, he fell. About him other bodies, clinging to his, +fell with him and rolled over him. There was the sound of stifled +oaths, groans and curses. Then once more all was silent, and he felt +that he was being carried away. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI + + THE LAW OF GONDWANA + + + "... _It is written: that those who wish to know--may know. This + is the Law of the Red Gods--the Law of the barren wives, the Law + of Gondwana. But those of our blood only--and among those only + women and the servants of the Gods--may hear it and know it without + dying._" + +The voice which was chanting stopped and an order sounded: + +"Untie their legs and take off their veils that they may see. The law +is the law." + +Pierre, freed from the cloth which had been wrapped round his head, +looked about him with curiosity. He found himself in the middle of an +interior open court, square in shape, of which the four sides were +lined with galleries one above the other, narrowing as they ascended, +and forming a tangle of recesses and stalls and compartments, over +which innumerable canopies and roofs twisted into spiral pinnacles +jutted out, tumbling in all directions, straddling over each other, +crowding one upon the other in an intricate mass.... The centre of the +court was hollowed out, forming a sort of basin paved with large, gray, +flat stones, the spaces between which were green with moss. It was in +this basin that they lay, he and the missionary. Very far up in the +centre of the grotesque and involved crowding of the roofs a section +of blue sky shone. Under the galleries the crowd of sorceresses was +massed. Among the twisted pillars and the square columns could be seen +groups of faces, scarred and twisted with every form of unimaginable +deformity, but all bending eagerly towards the two men. How many of +them were there? One hundred?... Two hundred?... Perhaps more! + +Pierre and the missionary examined them eagerly. They looked from one +gallery to another, inspecting the compartments, roving up and down the +long façades; and first one, and then the other, suddenly cried out: + +"_Wanda!_" + +"_Mademoiselle Redeski!_" + +There she was, standing in one of the galleries, bending forward with +her eyes fixed on them. The roof of the gallery in which she stood +flung its shadow over her so that the upper part of her figure, clad +in a black tunic, was in full blaze of light while the rest of her +remained in the shade. She was surrounded with sorceresses. She hung +over a little further. The sun lit up the masses of her hair so that +she seemed haloed with pale gold. With her arms stretched wide she +called: + +"Pierre!" + +The young man made a motion of rage. She saw that he was ready to rush +blindly towards her, and called out hurriedly: + +"No ... no ... don't stir.... Presently ... after the...." + +Then she fell suddenly silent. Around her the sorceresses were jostling +one another, drowning her voice with their ironical laughter and sneers. + +Motionless, his face turned towards the young woman, Pierre looked at +her long and searchingly. Their glances met and mingled, and their +love, stronger than the sense of danger, flamed up and flowed through +them, overwhelming them both with the same emotion and the same hopes. +It seemed to them that they were close to one another, so that their +lips at the same moment gave and received an imaginary kiss, and they +smiled, taking no thought of their sorry plight. + +Once more an order tore through the silence: + +"Hear ye all.... This is the true word." + +Their ecstasy was shattered. + +Pierre, turning towards the voice which had just sounded, recognized +Jieng: Jieng who, now clad in a tunic of white silk and seated in a +stall of carved stone decorated with blazing gold, was presiding over +the strange assembly. She bent a triumphant grin on the young man and +her lids flickered when their eyes met. + +Then Lursac looked at the missionary beside him. + +"A kind of trial I suppose," said he. + +"Yes," said the priest, "but listen!" + +The chant continued: + + "... _At the time when the Gods descended on the world the temple + was built--built with their hands. And hundreds and thousands of + moons have since then rolled into darkness. Afterwards the Gods + created peoples and animals and last of all they created the + Law--their Law._..." + +Once more Pierre turned to face Jieng. She sat motionless in a hieratic +pose copied from Siamese idols: at her feet crouched the woman who was +chanting; and, as she read, the yellow parchment inscribed in unknown +characters unrolling, stretched itself along the floor and seemed to +glide towards the two men. + +Jieng made a sign. + + "... _And in order that their will should be obeyed they called + together the women who live beyond the mountains in the cold white + country and said to them: This is our Law of which you shall be + the servants, and your power shall be great, for you shall be the + makers and the mothers of the Moï people--the free people of the + forest._" + +A murmur arose, and a great wave of pride tingled in the scarred faces +of the priestesses and shone in their eyes. + +Father Ravennes interrupted a moment the rosary which he was saying in +a whisper and caught Pierre by the elbow: + +"What do you intend to do?" said he calmly. + +Jerking himself free, the young man walked towards the high priestess. +When he was only separated from her by the edge of the basin in which +he stood he turned his eyes upon her. For a minute their hates flashed +out and Pierre cried roughly: + +"Your religious laws don't interest us! What we want is that white +woman whom you carried away here and whom you are holding against her +will. Do you understand?" + +Jieng did not deign to answer. She contented herself with laying her +finger on the shoulder of the reader crouched at her feet.... + + "... _As the servants did not understand, the Gods told them more: + This is the Temple in which you are to live. Here is the holy + valley, the valley in which time shall stand motionless. And here + are the males of the Race-which-shall-not-change. They shall be the + Living Gods. These shall be Life and they shall be called 'the Red + Gods,' that is to say the First, the Sons of the Queen-race, the + Rmoahal[17]-race._ + +[Footnote 17: This confirms very precisely the hypothesis made earlier +by Father Ravennes. The Red Gods of the Pou-Kas would, according to +this, be a preserved branch of the great antediluvian race of the sons +of Ad. From these, according to the sacred writings of India, the +different races that peopled the earth had their origin: first the red +race and then the yellow race. The first included, the Rmoahal, the +Zlavakis, the Zoltecs. The Rmoahal, who are evidently the red gods of +Lursac's history are described as follows: "This was the most ancient +race--four or five million years old. The men were walnut brown and +very tall--ten to twelve feet. At the time of the great earth cataclysm +they emigrated towards Upper Asia."] + +Pierre stretched his hand towards Jieng: + +"Listen," he cried; "if you don't give us back this woman our brothers +will come and destroy your temple and raze it to the ground. You shall +all be dispersed and slain. Our revenge is terrible!" + +Jieng, implacable, slowly raised her withered hand: + + "... _And henceforth the first Rule of the Law shall be concerning + your fate: you shall be conquered throughout the centuries but you + shall never be subdued. Everything which is taken from you you + shall some day recover, as the free people of the forest, the Moï + people, shall not die. They shall remain a strong people, for the + women of the race whose bodies are sterile shall come here and + shall be the brides for one night of the Living Gods, and they + shall carry back to the people of the forest the life and the + strength of the Race-which-shall-not-change._" + +Pierre bent his head; he felt himself fighting against a stupendous +power, in the face of which all resistance would be useless. The +versicles chanted in Banhar by the reader seemed to him a fantastic +story without interest. He thought of nothing but Wanda. Would he ever +be able to set her free? He looked at her. Her face seemed to him +paler, yet more wonderfully sweet and tender, in the midst of these +ravaged faces of the sorceresses! But at the same time he realized his +weakness against their numbers. The disproportion of their forces came +home to him with brutal certainty, and he knew in advance that he would +go down to defeat. He would not save Wanda ... he would not be able to +save her! + +To his rage succeeded a dull despair. He turned to the missionary, and +the priest, aware of his sufferings, said gravely: + +"Wait, the goodness of the Lord is without bounds: we have no right to +despair...." + +The voice of the chantress continuing her litany interrupted him: + + "... _They shall be brides of a night--but they shall not know + it, for they shall remain wrapped in slumber, as no woman except + their servants may see the Living Gods. No one--unless her life + henceforth is to be that of one of their servants and that she + remain among them until her death. And this is the second Rule of + the Law._" + +Jieng bent forward: she looked the young man up and down. + +"Do you hear?" she asked in her expressionless voice. "She wanted to +see the Red Gods. She has seen them, and she must remain among us until +her death. It is the second Rule of the Law...." + +She leaned back. + + "... _But the women of the free people who have been three times + brides of the Gods and who shall still remain sterile shall become + their servants. Then their portion shall be ugliness and obedience. + Those who are not ugly shall be made so; so that all the women who + are thus offered to the Gods shall alike have faces without thought + and without mind,--as beauty and thought will bring to blossom in + the holy valley as they have in the rest of the world the trees of + love, of hatred and of revolt.--And this is the third Rule of the + Law._" + +The parchment, now almost all unrolled, stretched out towards the +hollow in the centre of the court, brushing the feet of the two men +and jerking with every movement of the reader, whose voice, up to that +moment level and expressionless, suddenly became vibrant and sonorous. + + "... _Men even of Moï blood shall never see the Temple, and the + Dead Zone shall be their boundary. Nevertheless fifty warriors + shall live in the Temple, but without knowing the Gods; and before + entering there they shall have been made no longer fit to be called + men. This is the penultimate Rule of the Law._" + +A long pause, then the voice rose and became strident and flung out +like a defiance or a verdict of death the last section of the Law. + + "... _And if a man who is neither of the Moï blood nor of the Moï + country comes to the Temple, drawn by the lust of knowledge or even + by chance, the Slow Death shall be his portion. And this is the + last Rule of the Law._" + +Lursac saw the missionary blench. + +"Is it this verdict of death which causes you anxiety?" he asked. + +The priest shrugged his shoulders: + +"Didn't you hear? We are condemned to the Slow Death. I suppose you +know what that means?" + +"Yes," said Pierre, "starvation and thirst!" + +"No," interjected the priest, "it is something much more horrible, +a punishment which is celebrated in the annals of the Kingdom of +Annam."[18] + +[Footnote 18: The "Slow Death" was, to be precise, invented by the +emperor Gia-Long, founder of the dynasty of Nguyen. He practiced it +on the daughters of Huë, chief of the Tay-Son rebels, and on thirty +members of his family. Here is the description of the torture given by +the Annamese historian, Truong-Vin-Ky: "First the flesh of the limbs +is cut off strip by strip and the bones are broken. After which the +abdomen of the victim is cut open and his viscera removed. Finally +after his left hand has been cut off at the wrist the limbs are chopped +off at the trunk. This left hand is then embalmed and sent to the +family of the criminal in order that they may remember his fate and +meditate upon it."] + +The voice of Jieng interrupted him. She had risen. With her two hands +sweeping the air in a wide threatening gesture, she cried out: + +"The Law is the Law. You have come here to find out, and you have found +out; but now the Law of Gondwana has become your Law. Hear this also +which is the first word, at once the first and the last, as the chain +which binds you is complete. + + ... _It is written: that those who wish to know--may know. This is + the Law of the Red Gods--the Law of the barren wives, the Law of + Gondwana. But those of our blood only--and among those only women + and the servants of the Gods--may hear it and know it without + dying._..." + +A great clamor filled the hall: all the priestesses standing upon their +steps with their eyes turned towards the two men repeated in unison: + +"_And the Law of Gondwana is become your Law._" + +Clear and sudden, silence fell and lasted for a moment; then Jieng gave +the order: + +"Set them in the eighth gallery of the end hall until sunset. Then they +shall be carried to the statue of the God; and when the dawn comes the +last rule of the Law shall be carried out...." + +She looked the missionary in the face. + +"And now I shall find out how those who serve your God can die," said +she. + +Straining towards him she seemed to await his answer. But the priest, +with his eyes in front of him, gave no evidence of having heard her +except by a faint smile. + + + + + CHAPTER XXII + + WANDA TELLS HER STORY + + +The eighth gallery in which they were now confined was a peculiar +prison. It was a room about five or six yards long and not more than +a yard and one-half broad--a sort of corridor, with a very lofty +ceiling, its floor tiled with black and white mosaic ornamented with +purple gold. Its strangeness consisted in a feature which gave it a +disquieting and peculiar appearance of a combined cage and chapel. The +one and the only wall was hollowed out into an apse, at the back of +which an enormous idol in red metal smiled a beatific smile, seated in +the hollow of a huge flower formed by the spreading of seven flattened +heads of a gigantic Brahminic cobra. At the other end, opposite, was +the door by which they had been forced to enter the room, and on both +sides, arranged clusterwise, there rose a double row of columns almost +touching each other and leaving between them space hardly large enough +to slip one's arm through. + +There was no furniture in the gallery; but on the floor, at the foot +of the Buddhist statue, against the wall, there was stretched a bed of +beasts' skins, with rough thick hair. + +Pierre had set himself upon this, while the missionary, his face +pressed between the pillars, watched everything within reach of his +eyes. + +The gallery in which they lay formed the short end of an enormous room. +To right and left other halls, one leading into another, stretched +away, separated by lofty arches. Here and there opened dark entries +to semi-visible passages. A bluish-green daylight flowed between the +gray walls from some source which they could not determine. A smell of +stale incense and of mould was over everything. Striking down from some +invisible opening in the roof a dazzling ray of sunlight fell obliquely +on the tiling of the floor, making a broad splash of pale light. The +priestesses came and went. They glided noiselessly from one hall to +another, going about their customary duties, taking no notice of the +two men, not even glancing at them. They simply appeared from some +passage, crossed a hall and were swallowed up in the shadows of another +passage; and sometimes they were accompanied by native warriors with +bare breasts and legs and cloth kilts about their middles. + +Somewhere a woman's voice chanted a canticle, a sort of hymn to death; +and amid the vast silence this was the only sound that could be heard. + +The minutes passed. Pierre, with his head between his hands, was lost +in vague thought: an immense exhaustion had fallen upon him and bitter +despair. He thought of Wanda: the image of the young woman haunted him +and he was obsessed by the words which she had spoken out there in the +middle of the strange tribunal which had condemned them to Slow Death. +They went round and round in his brain which burned as with fever. + +"Presently.... After the...." + +His own fate did not disturb him. His nerves prostrated by fatigue and +his will in abeyance, he was a prey to his physical weakness, and, +in the dull stupefaction in his brain there floated only a single +craving--to give up, to lie down on these warm furs and never move +again, never think, and just forget everything. + +"Lursac ... come! come quickly!..." + +Pierre looked at the missionary with dull eyes, and getting up slowly +and awkwardly he went to join him. + +The priest, pointing out the series of rooms in front of him, said +simply: + +"Wanda!" + +Pressing his face between two pillars, Pierre looked. She had just +appeared at the bottom of the furthest hall. She was running. Under an +arch she had to stop to let a procession of priestesses followed by +a dozen warriors go by. Then she came on again. The long black tunic +which she wore made the pale gold of her unbound hair all the more +luminous by its contrast. + +Pierre stretched his arms toward her: + +"Wanda!... Wanda!..." + +In a moment she was before them. A priestess accompanied her and opened +the door for her, shutting it behind her, and then went off without a +word. Standing in the middle of the gallery, the young woman now gave +way and cried with convulsive spasms of silent weeping. Pierre had +caught her hands and kissed them passionately one after the other. +Words came to him, tumbling out confusedly: + +"My dear one!... Wanda!... My love! ... you are here.... Lift up your +head so that I may see your eyes ... yes, that's right.... Don't cry! I +love you!..." + +He pressed her to him passionately, stroking her hair, her shoulders. +Then raising her face gently he drew her towards him and bent over her: +their lips came together and clung. + +Releasing herself, she saw the missionary who had sat himself down upon +the heap of furs: she called to him: + +"My Father!" + +Then, running up to him, she knelt and stretched her hands, which he +caught and held. + +"My poor child!" said he, "how did you manage to get to us?" + +He felt the long, cold fingers tremble in his. + +"I am free," she said, "free to come and go throughout the temple. No +one takes any notice of me since ... since I must live here henceforth +until I die." + +They were both silent, full of thoughts and conflicting feelings. It +was the young woman who first broke the silence: + +"And Michael?" she questioned anxiously, seizing the priest by the arm, +"have you found him?" + +The missionary confessed the truth, telling briefly the story of their +descent into the ravine, the death of their guides, and how they made +their way into the temple and had been captured. + +She interrupted him, crying aloud again and yet again: + +"All that has come about through my fault! Forgive me!... Forgive +me!..." + + * * * * * + +Then in her turn she spoke: + +"I wanted to save Michael! His disappearance, the terror which weighed +on the whole region, the sorceresses, the pilgrimage for women, all +that seemed to be part of a single whole.... I knew that Jieng must +know all about this terrible occult system of which my brother was the +prisoner, and that she must be a part of it...." + +She turned to the missionary. + +"You said: 'I cannot depend on starting in less than eight days? I +was appalled.... I was afraid that we should arrive too late. When +I left the Mission I went to find Jieng by myself in order to force +information from her, but I got nothing ... nothing, except that if I +accompanied the pilgrimage of the sixth month which was starting that +evening, I should at any rate be able to see Michael.... I thought I +should be able to join him and give you the time to arrive and rescue +him, and perhaps that I could help him to escape. And then, you see, +Jieng allowed me to send you a message. So I set out, one of the troop +of Moï women. I walked with them all the way and arrived in front of +the temple where they made us enter a court...." + +"Yes," said Pierre, "we know all about that." + +And he recounted the tale which Hmon had told them. She assented to it +with nods of her head as he went along, and without speaking. + +When he had finished, she looked at him. + +"And then?" she asked. + +"That's all," said Pierre. "She waked up at the feet of the idol. What +had happened while she was asleep she knew nothing of...." + +The young woman bent her head. Hiding her face between her hands, she +whispered: + +"I know.... I know.... When we arrived at the pagoda, Jieng said to me: +'Do you want to see your brother? Perhaps he is here ... mix with the +priestesses and look....' So with the priestesses I made one of those +who lined the passages through which the Moï women walked, and I saw +everything. As soon as they were asleep, four priestesses picked them +up. Behind the statue of the God there was a door through which they +took them. And Jieng again said to me, 'Follow them.' Then immediately, +seeing my movement of instinctive recoil, she said, 'Then stay behind;' +but her scornful smile decided me to go on. I found myself in a +subterranean passage: before me four priestesses were carrying a woman: +behind me two others were walking, with torches in their hands. The +passage came out on a high narrow gallery lighted with braziers set on +tripods. On one side there was a clammy wall dripping with moisture, +and on the other a row of columns close to each other, just like these +of this gallery. Spaced among these pillars were doors,--I counted +twelve of them. One of the priestesses opened one of them, the first. +Leaning against the columns, I looked into a sort of rectangular cave." + +The missionary watched Pierre with a sidelong glance: + +"Yes, ..." he whispered, "it was through one of those that we got +here...." + +The young woman seemed not to hear him: she continued: + +"Two doors opened out of it: one through which the sorceresses were +already pushing the body of the woman, the other opposite. Behind this +latter I thought I heard movements and hoarse whispering. I went a +little further down the gallery, and I discovered that behind each of +these twelve doors there was a similar cell, and that in each of those +a sleeping woman was lying on the ground. When I returned to the first +one, the woman that I had seen carried there was lying stretched out +on the ground chained by the wrist. She was still asleep; and only a +single sorceress was by her, who, approaching a tripod on which live +coals were glowing, threw upon it a pinch of powder. A flame shot up, +blinding and livid. Twice more she repeated her action, and then came +back to me. Behind the second door the footsteps approached and became +louder. At the same moment a sharp click made me jump. Behind me the +door by which we had come in was shut. I was alone in the gallery. +Lying along on the ground, the woman who was there moaned softly in her +sleep. At the same time the second door was violently flung open ... +and...." + +She gasped. Through her fingers tears began to drip. + +Pierre repeated: + +"The door opened, and?" + +In spite of himself the words sounded rough. + +She sobbed more terribly. + +"A man came in," said she, "a red man. He was very tall and clothed in +a reddish fur; he looked round with a hard shining look and ran towards +the woman. I cried out.... He stopped, and flung an enquiring glance +around him; he saw me. He was some steps from me but quite near. I +saw his eyes open wide with astonishment. He looked down at the woman +lying at his feet and then quickly looked up again at me. Fear overcame +me.... I ran along the gallery. From all the cells that I passed I +heard cries and noises: I thought I understood, and an immense horror +overcame me. Staggering, I came back and reached the first cell in +which the man.... He was still there motionless in front of me. His +mahogany-colored face took on an extraordinary expression of curiosity +and respect, then suddenly it moved spasmodically and he ran at me. I +felt his hand on my hair. Ghastly fear made my knees give way. Falling, +I flung myself back with all my might and called out...." + +She hesitated. Pierre saw her hands tremble and clench. + +"And then? then?" he asked. + +"I ... it is all confused in my brain. I had shrunk away ... yes ... as +far as possible! I was afraid! afraid! But I continued to stare at him. +I could neither turn my eyes away nor close them. I saw him standing +against the columns, his closed fist held a lock of my hair and he was +looking at it. He stayed like that for a long time, looking now at the +woman sleeping on the earth and then at me. Finally he drew back slowly +and went out." + +She stopped speaking. + +The missionary stretched his hand to her in a gentle gesture of pity +and compassion, but Pierre, his face drawn and his teeth clenched, +cried out: + +"And then?" + +She drew back her hands from her face and cast a gentle look upon him. + +"After ... I do not know.... With my face in my arms I cried and cried. +Time went by: silence was everywhere around me. I dragged myself to the +door. I cried aloud and banged on it. Then suddenly, when I had given +up hope, it opened, and Jieng appeared accompanied by two guards. She +turned towards me and grinned. The warriors under her order held me up +and helped me along: they took me back into the temple and conducted +me into a long room with sculptured walls. After having laid me on a +sleeping bench covered with furs they went out. Jieng remained alone +with me. She looked me up and down. + +"'This,' she said, 'will be your room. You are free to leave it if +you wish. Do whatever you want. But I said to you one day, 'no harm +will happen to you,' and I don't want a pig of a barbarian to be able +to accuse me of having lied. The priestesses of the Red Gods do not +lie. Go out of the temple if you wish, but do not forget this: Out +there'--she pointed in one direction--'at the principal entrance by +which you came in is the forest, and death for those who are not of our +race. On this side'--and she pointed to the façade of the sanctuary on +which the door and window of my room gave--'on this side dwells the +clan of the Red Gods which you have just seen.' She paused, gave a +short, strident laugh, and went on: 'Do, then, as you will. Whatever +happens to you now it will be only your own wish which has brought you +to it.' + +"She went off before I could make even a movement. I remained on the +sleeping-bench, overcome, and my mind empty. I felt incapable of +moving. Affairs presented themselves to me in their true light. Making +use of the disappearance of Michael, Jieng had inveigled me into an +ambush, and from now on I was her prisoner. The words which she had +just said to me echoed in my hollow brain. On one side the unknown +mountain range, a desert which no man left to himself could manage to +cross, on the other the ... the...." + +Wanda was silent. Her look was full of a sort of horror. She raised +dull eyes towards the two men and went on: + +"When I recovered from my prostration I dragged myself to the window +of my room, which was barred with small columns. The growing light +of dawn showed me a wild landscape: a chaos of rocky blocks massed +perpendicularly on the edge of a gentle slope, and beyond that the dark +sea of the forest buried in a gorge of which the abrupt walls flung +themselves up towards a livid sky and surrounded with their implacable +ranks the entire temple." + +"The ravine," murmured Pierre. + +"Hush!" said the priest, "let her continue!" + +The young woman, without looking at them, went on: + +"I stayed there a long time. The sun rose and its light shone into +my room. I was able to see every detail of it. The walls, from top +to bottom, were graven with designs, lotus flowers, impossible +animals, warriors and bonzes in attitudes of struggle or prayer. The +sleeping-platform, two chests and two or three stools, crudely carved, +made up the entire furnishings. The gate to the right of the window +which opened on the façade of the temple fronting the ravine, was heavy +and made of rough wood: a bar almost as big as a squared beam crossed +it. I made sure that it was firmly shut, and then I left the room. +I wandered through the halls of the temple. The priestesses and the +warriors whom I met took no notice of me.... But I heard behind my back +ironical laughs and sneers. I made my way back to my cell, and throwing +myself on my bed I sobbed desperately until fatigue, stronger than +suffering, brought me unconsciousness. + +"A ringing cry awoke me suddenly. I got up and looked about me. Between +the columns of my window I made out the face of a man. The face that I +had seen the night before in the cell back there.... I cried out, and +stood ready to run away.... + +"But he gave an uneasy smile, and lifting up his hands seemed to show +me something which I could not make out properly: then he disappeared. +I waited a few seconds, and carefully approaching the window I dared to +look out. The sun was setting. On my window-sill I found a stag's head +with its antlers. In the distance among the rocks the man was running +away." + +The young woman bent her head down and stopped speaking. + +Pierre, tortured with doubt, did not dare to ask her any questions; +while the missionary, remembering what he had seen that same morning at +dawn, reflected deeply. Before his mind there came again the picture +of the barbarian and his attitude of silent adoration; and suddenly he +understood what they had taken for the ritual of an unknown worship was +nothing but an expression of adoration--an outbreak of this eternal +instinct of love which down through the ages from the earliest days +of humanity to the present time has taught the males of the species +the same thoughts and the same actions, of which accumulated centuries +of civilization and of progress have only succeeded in reducing the +primordial brutality ... nothing more than this! The silence grew +longer and it was Wanda who of her own accord continued: + +"How did he manage to discover which was my window? I do not know. +But from that time on, every morning at dawn, and every evening at +night-fall, he came up to my room and prowled about it. When he left, +a new trophy was added to the others. When I wake in the morning I +see his great face and his gray eyes, and in the evening I perceive +his shadow flung across the window of my cell. For I do not sleep any +more.... I do not sleep any more.... I am afraid.... Although I know I +have nothing to fear; but from dread of feeling there, behind my door, +this invisible presence, of being aware that I have been ceaselessly +watched by this human beast for all of the eight days that I have been +here.... Ah, the horror of it!..." + +Her glance became fixed. In the depths of her eyes, grown large with +fear and reddened by sleeplessness, a vision arose, the vision of a +scene which had been enacted the evening before, and of which the +memory, overshadowing her, still made her tremble. She lived again +through those frightful minutes during which, pressed against the wall, +her heart beating wildly, she had listened to the man scratching at her +door, feeling it all over, trying his strength against it, endeavoring +to enter into this room in which lay the female with the gold hair, +the prey which he desired above all else. She recalled again his +appearance at the window, his efforts to break through the columns, +and his cry--this strange cry which had terrified her by the desire, +the wrath, and the sadness which it expressed. Then, mad with terror, +she had rushed at him armed with a torch. She saw again his face which +the purple light of the firebrand had sharply lighted up--the face of +a conquered wild beast, savage, humble, and grief-stricken all at the +same time. + +She shuddered. + +"Ah! the horror of it! ... the horror of it! ..." she repeated in a low +voice. + +Pierre, who had been wildly striding up and down his narrow prison, +came back to her. He seized the hand of the young woman on which still +sparkled the signet ring which he had given her. He stroked it gently, +and passionately kissed the fingers one by one. A great pity had taken +possession of him: he tried to find soothing words: + +"My loved one ... my darling ... you must not think of all that, you +must not torture yourself like this ... I love you!..." + +She raised her head suddenly. Her face, wet with tears, became +illumined with an expression of longing and passionate love. She drew +him to her. + +"I love you!... I love you ..." she whispered, offering him her lips. + +And once again their love made them regardless of everything but +themselves. + +The missionary, standing beside them, looked into the distance. +Gradually the darkness stole in. The ray of sunlight had long gone from +the furthest arch. Bluish shadows little by little invaded the temple. +The night filtered softly into the halls; the further ones gradually +melted into the obscurity and became invisible. + +The priestesses, scarcely seen, continued to go back and forth through +the sanctuary. In the distance the unknown voice continued to chant its +song of death; and the darkness mingling with the sadness of the chant +sung upon two minor tones gave it a peculiar sweetness. + +Minutes passed, and then from the dark of a passage a procession of +eight priestesses carrying torches appeared, accompanied by a dozen +warriors, their lances in their hands. The troop, crossing the various +rooms, advanced towards the prisoners. + +Jieng was at their head. + +The missionary followed their march with his eyes for a minute, then he +murmured: + +"_Let them be put in the eighth gallery until the setting of the +sun._... And the sun is set!" + +He called to Lursac: + +"They are coming to fetch us," he said; and he walked towards the door. + +The voice stopped him: + +"No ... you will not be taken there for an hour." + +Pierre, raising his head, perceived Jieng. Standing before the pillars +she watched the three Europeans: a grin wreathed her face, twisting it +into wrinkles. With a gesture she dismissed her escort; then she spoke +in Banhar, addressing herself to Pierre and the girl. + +"You came to see me down there in my village. I have not forgotten it." + +And she bowed in an ironical salute: + +"In my turn I come to see you.... Is not that the custom among you?" + +The young people made no answer: they clung to each other. Jieng gave a +little dry laugh. + +"Aïa ... Aïa ..." said she. "Is your curiosity then dead? Has fear +killed it?" + +The missionary, as she looked at him, shrugged his shoulders. + +"Hé!" he growled, "I wonder what there can be left for us to know now?" + +Although he had spoken in a very low voice, the sorceress heard him. + +She gave a short laugh. + +"What there remains for you to know? Very nearly everything!..." + +The three Europeans started violently. The answer had been spoken +in French, slowly but almost without accent. The smile of the +high-priestess became more marked and full of irony. + +"Yes," she said, "first of all that: I speak your language." + +She enjoyed their astonishment for the space of several seconds, then +she continued: + +"You could not imagine that!... And who could have supposed it?... +Here, in the depths of the forest, an old woman shut up in her +hut, leading the existence which animals lead in their lairs--a +savage, brutalized by this primitive and bestial life, just a Moï +beggar-woman--_speaking French_!... Incredible, isn't it? Yes ... I am +beginning to interest you." + +The missionary, taken unawares, had instinctively moved towards the +columns. + +Her glance settled on him. + +"I was certain," said she, "that my visit would not displease you. +The explanation?... How and where I learned your language? It is much +simpler than you imagine. I suppose you know the orphanage of the +Little Sisters of Saigon? I was there eight years, from the age of six +to fourteen. Then suddenly I disappeared. They looked for me. I was +taken away by a street-beggar and brought back among my own people to +be made ready for my present rôle. Ten years of work and initiation, +twenty more years during which I learned all the secrets of the Law +of Gondwana; then at the death of my mother came my nomination as +Bia-Bo-Jaou.[19] I have been that for eighteen years. I was forty-four +at the time. And ever since then, every two years at least, I have +been to Saigon. I was there when this man"--and she pointed to +Lursac--"landed. I shall be there again four months from now. I go +there to follow the course of your conquest, to watch the progress of +your forward movements." + +[Footnote 19: Chief of the sorceresses.] + +She made a pause: her voice became stronger, and an extraordinary +expression of hardness contracted her deformed face. + +"Ah!" said she, "you are powerful: your spirit of order, your system of +violence and persuasion by turns, this mixture of force and subtlety, +of terrorization and of free infiltration, has given you unexpected +results, as, little by little advancing, and settling yourselves as you +penetrate, you have arrived at the very foot of our mountains...." + +She made a movement of restrained rage. + +"Yes ... you have arrived so far, but at the same time you have +attained the limit which I had set to your encroachments...." + +She noticed the somewhat disdainful smile with which Pierre received +her declaration. All the hate in her showed in her face. She growled +out: + +"You may smile. I told you just now: you know nothing! Listen ... you +are going to die in a few hours. She--"and her stretched-out finger +pointed to Wanda--"she will never leave the temple again.... You wanted +to find out, like the others--like Lieutenant Redeski and Lieutenant +Longères whose corpses you found in the ravine--like Captain Dorcel, +whom we allowed to return to Saigon because I knew he could never speak +again, and because I thought thus to turn aside the suspicions which +the disappearance of Lieutenant Longères had aroused. Like them you +wanted to know; but also, like them, you will never be able to tell +anybody what you do know." + +She stopped to sneer. Father Ravennes mechanically enquired: + +"Then ... it is you?..." + +She did not allow him to go on; she swelled with pride. + +"It is I! But there is more and better to come ... for this is only a +minor issue, an unimportant detail of the contest which I am waging +against you. Remember the rebellion of the Bolovens, a revolt at once +religious and patriotic, the taking of the post of Psi, the putting +to death of Robert, condemned by me because his curiosity began to be +inconvenient! At the same time do not forget the death of Odend'hal who +was too anxious to find out about it." + +She stamped her foot and cried out: + +"All that ... all that, is my work ... it is my will which has caused +it ... it is my power which has commanded it and brought it about." + +The missionary, standing upright before her, looked at her. + +"Why?" he asked quietly. "Why? We have never sought to do you any +harm!... We come to you...." + +She spat on the ground and interrupted him: + +"Done me harm?..." she repeated violently. "By what right do you set +yourselves up as masters? This land is ours! However far you may search +back into the Chinese historians you find that this soil was inhabited +from the beginning by our race. Invasions occurred: the Kmers, the +Chams, the Lao-ese, the Cambodians, the Annamese, all, all invaded us +and fell upon our plateaus like swarms of hungry insects. We gave way +as much as possible. We fled into the most inaccessible forests and on +to the most precipitous mountains. We, formerly the masters of this +country, we fled. The rich, fertile soil of the plains we abandoned to +the greed of our invaders: we were condemned to a miserable life, the +life of the beasts, hunted in the depths of their forests and pursued +even to their lairs. But we remained free, we were always the Free +People of the Mountain." + +"Then, in your turn, you came. These fragments of our possessions, +these last vestiges of our territory--even these--you wanted to take +from us. And above all, above all, you wanted to rule us, to make +us subservient to your laws ... to your customs ... to your +religion; ... like those other peoples worn out with debauchery and +weakened with opium, like the Lao-ese, the Cambodians, the Annamese, +we were to have become your servants and the instruments of your +greatness!... Ah! but we would not. And I, on the other hand, I, Jieng, +less than anyone, because, while those others simply dislike you, I +hate you.... I hate you because of your power and your civilization +which make you so formidable. I hate you because, great and strong as +you are, you are for ever thinking how to stretch out your hands over +the miserable territories of a people that you think cannot resist you. +I hate you because your domination would mean the annihilation of all +that our race has done, the work of my people; our customs, our laws, +our habits, our religion: because ten years of European influence is +enough to wipe out the centuries of our history; this history that the +members of my family have built up one after the other, down to me.... +I hate you!... I hate you!..." + +Little by little her voice had risen in tone, and she flung out her +last words with a sort of furious violence. Then, suddenly, she was +taken with a fit of coughing which bent her double. + +Pierre and Wanda, motionless, watched her with immense surprise. The +priest alone remained unimpressed. He listened with grave attention, +and when once more the high priestess was silent he slowly stretched +out his arm towards her: + +"What does it matter?" said he. "As for me, I do not hate you: you +serve your religion...." + +Jieng lifted her head again. + +"I serve my religion?" said she, "Ah! Ah! They think that! ... and +after all that I have just said to them ... they have not even +understood!... Dorcel even was more intelligent than you.... My +religion? You are as simple as all my people.... For them there must +be gods, divine beings whom they never see and whom terror makes them +obey better than they do us plain mortals.... The Red Gods! ... yes, +for them, for all of them, these are gods.... But for me ... for me ... +they are the pure race, the strong race, which makes it possible for me +to preserve in the people of the forest its hardiness, to infuse into +it a new unfettered blood to fight against its bastardization, against +its degradation. It is the giant tree from which I drain into the veins +of the Moï people a new sap ... it is the life which I preserve for my +people in order that the word of the law of Gondwana shall some day +become the truth: _You shall be conquered throughout the centuries but +you shall never be overcome, and everything which has been taken away +from you, some day you shall retake_." + +"But," said the priest, "what about them, the men of the tribe?" + +The eyes of the priestess looked at him: + +"They," said she, "they do not know. Life for them has always been +there, and never anywhere else. The fathers of their fathers have lived +there, and for them the world has no other features but those of this +valley and the rear façade of the temple. Ten male children and ten +girls are enough to assure their perpetuation. Is that what you wanted +to know?" + +The resonant note of a gong at the end of one of the halls filled the +vaults with its call and vibrated long under the vaulted ceilings. +Jieng, turning towards her escort, made a sign: the warriors got ready +to march away. The high priestess cried in a loud voice: + +"This is the hour!..." + +Wanda had fallen on her knees. She sobbed. + +Lursac, bending over her, said quickly: + +"Follow us, and stay as near as you can to the hall into which they +take us. Perhaps we can manage...." + +She gave a cry of despair: + +"No! No! They are too strong and there are too many of them!" + +The priest in his turn said decidedly: + +"Lursac is right. Anything may happen when God wills it." + +And as they opened the door of the gallery he crossed the threshold and +of his own accord placed himself between two of the warriors. Pierre +did likewise. Wanda had pulled herself together and went out of the +gallery, and when the priestesses started off she tried to follow them. +Two men stopped her. She struggled and tried to pass in spite of them. +They held her by force, and one of them explained to her with a high, +almost feminine voice: + +"Only those who are going to die are allowed to watch under the statue +of the God." + +She called out: + +"Pierre! Pierre!..." + +But the escort had disappeared, swallowed up in the dark mouth of one +of the passages. The warriors had loosed her. They watched her. The one +who had already spoken said baldly: + +"Women and female beasts are just alike, they cry after the male...." + +Then she fled, and the laughter of the two guards followed her. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII + + A TERRIBLE BARGAIN + + +She had fled into her room. Flung upon her sleeping-bench she +was thinking rapidly. Her tears flowed no longer. With her will +concentrated to a point, she forced herself to subdue the tumult of +her thoughts and to bring order out of the chaos of ideas and emotions +which surged up in her. + +The night had flowed into and drowned her cell,--this night which was +to be the last one for Pierre and Father Ravennes. Tomorrow, at dawn, +their torture would begin,--this fearful torture, the Slow Death, which +Jieng one evening had complaisantly described to her: the flesh torn +off bit by bit, the bones broken one by one, the entrails.... With a +bound of horror the young woman flung herself from the couch and stood +upright in the middle of the room. The darkness became unbearable to +her. She lighted the torch fixed in the wall above the window. But the +vision which she had thought to banish in driving away the dark, came +back to her, haunted her.... Pierre cut to pieces, dismembered, a mere +bleeding stump!... Pierre! and all this through her own fault... +Yes, ... through her fault alone.... + +The details of her last visit to the sorceress flashed through her +mind, and among them the strange look of Jieng when she had given +permission for Lursac and Ravennes to be notified. A bait! That was +it.... She had been a bait used to entice the two men, to bring them +into the trap, to call them to it certainly and irresistibly. + +And now, now.... Gripping her arms in her hands she twisted them in +agony; all her love, all her suffering, broke from her in a strangled +sob.... Ah! if it were possible to save them!... To snatch Pierre from +this nameless and horrible death.... To save him.... She thought of +the last words of the young man: "Perhaps we can manage...." She shook +her head wildly: No. Nothing! He could do nothing!... For she knew, +she had seen the warriors and the sorceresses. There were too many of +them! What then? What then? She thought in a flash: "If I went there, +I ... if instead of them Jieng would...." But she stood frozen into +immobility at the thought that it was not she whom they wanted to get +rid of, but they, the men who knew too much, who had discovered too +many secrets,--they who represented the conquerors, the witnesses,--as +they had already got rid of Dorcel, Longères, Redeski.... No, it must +be something else ... she must find some other way.... But what?... The +question obsessed her and would not let her go, beating round and round +the walls of her brain.... What? She could not think of anything ... +and the horrible scene which she visioned in advance dwelt obstinately +before her eyes: the scene of the torture, tomorrow, in a few hours.... + +Once more, seized by despair, she flung herself across the foot of +the sleeping-bench and with her head buried in her arms she sobbed +convulsively. Suddenly she heard a call, that hoarse, lingering, +drawn-out cry which she had so often heard and knew so well. She +turned her head towards the window and saw the Man. With his face +pressed against the little columns, he was watching her. She remained +motionless: what did he matter? She was now in the grip of a different +fear, a more terrible one, which made her forget the one which had so +long pursued her. + +They looked at each other, face to face: he with his eyes shining with +the fever of passion; she with a mechanical stare which hardly saw him. +He drew himself still closer to the window and called once again: + +"_O ... ô ... iê ... êp._..." + +But his voice now had in it something timid and imploring which made +the girl tremble. His eyelids flickered. She got up and stood facing +him. Leaning against the wall she considered the face of the savage. It +seemed to her now that she saw him for the first time. A line of shade +from one of the columns hid his right ear, a part of his neck and the +middle of his chest; but his heavy square forehead, high, and rising +from bushy eyebrows; his deep-sunk eye-sockets, in the depths of which +under quick flickering eyelids shone the thin, sharp, clinging look +of a bird of prey; his strong red mouth and his hard, prominent chin; +the entire face copper-colored, and softly touched into uncertain, +purplish lights and shadows by the flame of the torch. And this face +now appeared to Wanda strangely beautiful and savage at the same time. + +The Man, with a slow, gentle movement, as though afraid of frightening +her, held up an enormous branch, covered with fruit, which he laid on +the sill of the window, and on his face spread a shy boyish smile. + +Panting, Wanda suddenly made a couple of steps toward him. She +staggered. With a violent effort which contorted her features, she +conquered her weakness and let her look rest on the Man. A swift flame +flashed in her eyes giving them a desperate expression. Then, dropping +her glance, she stretched her hand and pointed to her door. + +When she looked again the window was empty. She trembled with dread +lest he had not seen her sign and had gone away, not to return until +the hour of dawn, according to his usual custom--At dawn, that is to +say, too late! But she suddenly heard his step behind the heavy door +which she had pointed out to him, and this time she was again shaken by +a terrible shudder because he had understood.... + +Instinctively she recoiled; but again the vision of Pierre being +tortured appeared to her and she groaned. She walked stiffly to the +door, while upon her lips, which she bit in order not to cry out, +little drops of blood sprang out. She stretched out her hand and began +to loosen the enormous wooden bar and let it fall on the ground. Then +she drew back. + +The door, pushed violently open, slammed against the wall, and the Man +appeared framed in the doorway of the cell. + +He was a magnificent figure. His fur garment girded about his waist +left part of the chest bare and fell to his knees. The free shoulder +was big and rounded, it had the metallic gleam of virgin copper. +Along his bare arms the muscles stood out. From his whole body, at +once massive and beautifully proportioned, radiated a singular sense +of power. As he slowly twisted the upper part of his body, his whole +figure turned with a supple flexion, and the fur which clothed him +moulded still more clearly his athletic torso, showing the rounded +flanks and bringing out the curve of his haunches. + +Wanda remained as though petrified in the middle of the room, unable to +turn her eyes from the giant form. With a leap and a growl he was close +to her, so near that she felt on her face the warmth of his breath. For +a second he remained motionless, and then his neck, corded with muscles +and veins, swelled as he stretched his hands to her. + +The danger awoke the young woman from the paralysis which held her. +With a sudden movement she flung herself against the wall by the window +under the torch. The Man looked astonished. He hesitated, his eyes +looked suspiciously round the room and came back to the young woman. +Shaking his rough, tawny mane of hair he came towards her. This time +she did not stir: she felt instinctively that the time had come to +face him--to face him and conquer him. This love which he had for her +and which she was going to use must be set free and tamed at the same +time,--and for that it was necessary that he should not suspect the +blind terror which possessed her. + +When once again he was close in front of her, he spread wide his arms +and opened his hands. She saw the grip ready to fall on her and seize +her. The face of the Man and his warm breath came close, bending +towards her golden hair which drew him like a charm. And as she felt +on her shoulders the touch of his fingers, at once hard and light, she +flung forward her little white and trembling fist and struck him full +in the face with all her force. The Man, with a deep growl, manifested +his astonishment, but he still held her. With a violent shake she got +free but stood her ground. For a second they looked each other in the +eyes. She saw clearly his fawn-colored pupils in which the reflections +of the torch made red dancing spots; and there she saw suddenly come +to a head all the instincts of violence and all the brutality of his +primitive soul. + +She forced herself to stare at him, unwinking, and she spoke in a low, +rather hoarse voice: + +"You have come every morning and every night.... You have brought me +offerings. I know.... I have seen you.... I have heard you.... And +tonight, I ... I ... have opened my door...." + +She spoke in Banhar, slowly picking her words. She did not consider +what she was saying; the main point was that he should hear the sound +of her voice and listen to it. It was essential that this light in the +depths of his eyes should disappear. + +He, for his part, seemed entirely taken up with the contemplation of +her hair, the inexplicable golden-ness of which obsessed him like a +marvellous and unexpected vision. + +She went on speaking to him, but louder: + +"I have opened my door to you ... because I want to ask something of +you ... something...." + +Suddenly he seemed to awake from his daydream: his eyelids beat +rapidly: his lips, half-opened, showed the ivory sparkle of his teeth, +and he savagely brought down his hands and clutched her arms. His +features tightened with a terrific expression of cruelty, and all that +had been awakened in him of softness and hesitation was crowded out +and carried away by the sudden outbreak of primitive instinct: he was +no longer anything but a male facing his desired love-prey. She knew +this, she read it on his contorted face, and her fear sweeping back +upon her she cried out. He lifted her up and sought to carry her off. +She struggled and fought desperately with her nails, her feet, and her +knees. The sleeve of her tunic which he had caught in his grip gave +way: she managed to wriggle out of his grasp, leaving the strip of +black silk between his fingers. Freed, she stumbled, fell against the +columns of the window and remained clinging to them, trembling with +fear and shame. + +Recoiling for an instant the Man watched her, while mechanically he +wiped away with the back of his hand the blood from his neck covered +with Wanda's scratches. She raised her arms above her head without +letting her eyes wander from his. With her finger-tips she explored +the wall above her until she felt the handle of the torch. At the same +moment, a hoarse growl coming from the depths of his throat and his +hands stretched out like claws, he flung himself at her. Seizing the +torch she thrust it at him suddenly. The flame twisted in front of his +eyes and a drop of burning resin fell upon his hand. Checked in his +attack he jumped backward several steps. At that she followed him up, +continuing to threaten him with the firebrand. Before the fire, this +mysterious and living thing, this strange red flower, at the same time +kindly and cruel, he slowly broke away. Perhaps there lingered in his +brain the remembrance of another similar scene, of another evening when +she had in the same way obliged him to leave her window and to give +way before her. Or perhaps it was her face and her tragic beauty which +impressed him. + +All his violence fell away from him. He still growled low in his +throat but it was no longer savage or cruel: rather, on the contrary, +complaining and imploring. + +When she had driven him close to the door by which he had entered, +Wanda stood still and looked him in the eyes. Standing before her, +with his head hanging, he turned away his face. She knew that she had +conquered him, that he had submitted. Then, without taking any notice +of him, she went and replaced the torch in its bracket above the +window. Turning round she saw him standing in the same place, his eyes +moving alternately from her to the door and back. She knew at once that +he was hesitating whether to flee or not; and an agony of suspense came +upon her lest he should disappear. Thinking of Pierre, whose image had +remained with her throughout, she murmured: + +"I will save him, ... I will save him at any price!" + +Resolutely she went close to the Man. Without making any movement he +watched her approach him; and when she laid her finger on his wrist a +shiver went through him, but he still stood motionless. Again she spoke +to him: + +"I said to you that I had something to ask you. You must listen to me, +for then, if you do this thing, then...." + +He raised his head and looked at her attentively. She saw him watching +anxiously, trying to understand her; and his desire to comprehend her +words was so acute as to bring a deep wrinkle between his eyebrows. +Then a wave of red flowed into the pallid cheeks of Wanda, and she +finished her sentence: + +"Then," she said, "I will go with you--I will go with you always ... +everywhere...." + +He breathed deeply and repeated: + +"Always ... everywhere, with me...." + +She acquiesced with a simple nod and closed her eyes. + +While speaking she had made a step in his direction. Now she felt his +arms carefully take hold of her round the back and draw her to him. He +pressed her against him for a second without her attempting to free +herself; then she pushed him gently away and he let go of her. + +"Yes," she said, "I will do it if you free my brothers...." + +Her voice trembled. She did not even dare to to look at him, but stood +waiting. + +"Your brothers?" said he, in his turn. + +"Two men of my race, of my blood," she explained. "The servants of the +temple captured them yesterday; they have taken them into the great +hall before the red figure of the god, and they are going to kill them +when day comes, and that--" she almost screamed--"that I will not +have...." + +The Man did not answer. In his thick skull obscure thoughts were +beginning to stir. Again she stood in front of him. + +"With your companions you could rescue them, carry them away from here +into the forest," said she. "They will go away, and I ... I will stay, +down there...." + +And she pointed with her hand in the direction of the ravine. + +He trembled and put his arm round the waist of the young woman. + +"Good!" said he, "tomorrow, before the rising of the god who lights the +world they shall be free...." + +She gave a long, deep sigh. + +"But are there enough of you, and will the others consent?" + +He drew himself up and threw out his chest, he clenched his fists +roughly. + +"There are forty of them," he said with fierce pride, "forty, and +for four seasons the clan has marched behind Maa-Wang.... Where I go +the others will go, for I am Maa-Wang, the Man-who-goes-in-Front, +He-who-carries-the-Club, he whom they follow...." + +He stopped and his rough voice softened. + +"Your brothers shall be free ... but then it is you whom the servants +of the temple come to look for and will put to death...." + +"What does that matter?" said Wanda carelessly. + +He gave no heed to her. Like her, some moments earlier, he cried out: + +"I will not have that: Follow me!" + +And as she instinctively moved back from him, he said more softly: + +"You shall wait for Maa-Wang; and when those of your blood are free in +the forest, then only will I come to fetch you." + +He had taken her arm as he spoke and drawn her out of the room. On +the threshold she felt herself giving way. All her courage, all her +exaltation vanished. She saw no longer anything but the horror of this +sacrifice of herself: she was on the point of calling to him.... + +But the savage, seeing her totter, had picked her up. He held her +carefully against his great chest and advanced to the edge of the +outside balcony. She could feel his heart beating in heavy, rhythmic +throbs. + +She resigned herself to the sacrifice. + +Now the Man was carrying her in one arm. He descended the furthest +wall and when he had reached the granite base on which the building +was planted he stopped a moment searching the shadows. The night was +light and filled with milky mist: above their heads the lighted window +cut a luminous rectangle in the sombre façade of the temple, while the +columns in front of the window flung across the narrow gallery in front +of it alternate bars of shadows and bands of light. + +Once more Maa-Wang set forward. He slowly and carefully picked his way +down the massed heap of rocky blocks, trying the ground before him at +every step, and finally came to a sort of deep grotto hollowed between +two enormous stones leaning one against the other. The opening was low +and he had to bend himself to enter. He put the young woman on the +ground: darkness wrapped them in its impenetrable mantle. + +"Here," said he, "no one will be able to find you except me." + +He was silent. Wanda understood that he was awaiting her reply. She +gathered up all her remaining energy and was finally able to stammer: + +"I will wait for you." + +She could no longer see him, but she heard the noise of his breathing +which receded and grew fainter, and she knew that he was going. She +then saw his bent silhouette as he glided out of the cavern. Finally +she saw him roll a mass of rock in front of the opening. Then a second +one, and, after it, others, which he heaped on each other. The fragment +of pale night which she could see through the cavern-mouth got narrower +with each stone and finally disappeared altogether. The cave was filled +with black shadows.... + +The young woman then heard the footsteps of the savage become fainter +and vanish into silence. + +Suddenly the veil of unconsciousness fell upon her. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV + + THE RESCUE + + +Drawing up his great muscular form to its full height Maa-Wang +stopped: behind him the whole clan followed his example. The +Man-who-goes-in-Front carefully looked over the façade of the temple. +It was dark. Wanda's window, only, still lighted-up, pierced the gloom +with a thin rectangle of red. + +The night was beginning to thin. The roaring of wild beasts sounded +from the valley. The depths of the gorge were still a sea of darkness, +but the foundation wall of the temple, in front of which stood the +tribe, gradually became distinct, and the nearest door showed darker in +the midst of the dark mass. + +Maa-Wang turned towards his clan, raised his club aloft and started +off again, a low growl rumbling from his lips. At his back moved the +hunters, all on fire for the battle towards which their chief was +guiding them. They spoke no word: their great hands clutched the +handles of their axes: the flatness of their faces was accentuated: +their clenched jaws and their chins vibrating with impatience stood out +starkly: in their eyes, narrow and flickering, shone strange lights. + +They passed through Wanda's cell. The door giving on the gallery +was shattered with a blow from the club and they streamed into the +corridor behind the columns, pushing the wreckage out of their way. +The narrow subway then forced them to form into a procession of two +abreast. Maa-Wang went at the head, silent, his fingers on the wall of +the passage, feeling his way. His fellows followed through the blank +darkness. Several minutes they marched thus, here and there stopping to +listen; but they found nothing but silence, a living silence heavy with +invisible vibrations. Again they started onwards.... An axe now and +again knocked against the wall, and the meeting of the two stones made +a short, clear, clink, greeted by a surly growl. The passage curved and +turned on itself. Then, at the top of the second staircase, guarded by +a narrow rail, the opening suddenly appeared before them, showing a +pointed archway against the lighted depths of the great hall. + +Maa-Wang, bending forward with his great body, shouted the call of the +clan: + +"_O ... ô ... iê ... iêp._..." + +And he rushed forward, club aloft, while behind him the troop streamed +into the sanctuary. + +In front of them, with its back to them, rose an enormous statue which +they passed round. Close on their left, the altar revealed its three +steps and the transparent hangings behind which flamed the divinity. +Above the twelve arms which stood out from the body the metal face +reproduced with extraordinary exactness the face of Maa-Wang: the +great swelling forehead, deep eye-sockets, prominent jaw bones and +chin sticking out strongly, hair of a burning red. It was the Man of +the early days, the ancestor of the human race deified. A deep red fur +covered the upper part of the body: in truth it was the Red God,--the +graven image of the "Living Gods"! + +At its feet Lursac and the missionary were stretched, gagged, their +legs and arms bound and their clothes torn to ribbons. + +Discovering them, the hunters broke out into confused clamor, and while +Maa-Wang ran to the two men, the others stood around them watching them +with stupefied glances. Beyond them the hall unrolled its immensity, +surrounded with enormous square pillars based on fantastic animals who +stretched up towards the dim vaulted room their preposterous muzzles. +In front of each one of these monsters taken from the old Brahmin +legends flamed a brazier, flinging patches of blood-colored light on +the gray scaly stomachs of these granite beasts; and on the white +tiling of the floor the reflections of the quivering light mingled with +the flickering shadows in a grotesque dance. + +Pierre, whom the Man had now freed from his bonds, stood up, staggering +and swaying. He could not understand.... He was still stupefied from +the hours of suspense which he had passed at the foot of the statue. It +seemed to be the continuation of the evil dream which throughout the +night had harried him without ceasing: the nightmare of the prehistoric +tribe and then of the priestesses. + +But now from all the shadowy recesses and from all the corners +unreached by the lights of the braziers there seemed to arise +sorceresses and Moï warriors. There must have been a hundred of them, +and their cries and calls echoed and re-echoed through the sanctuary. + +At their appearance the clan irresolute, turned back and fluctuated +aimlessly. In doubt, Maa-Wang looked at the two Europeans one after the +other. + +"Her brothers?" he murmured. "That is what she said...." + +The missionary heard him; he nodded, beginning to understand, and +thinking of Wanda. + +"Her devotion has been useless," he thought. "We shall never get by +them." + +At the same moment pointing out to the Man the army of priestesses and +guards, he said, simply: + +"There are too many of them." + +The Man said nothing. He gave a hoarse sigh and once again his cry rang +out: + +"_O ... ô ... iê ... êp...._" + +Shaken out of their surprise, the hunters at once recovered their +natural instincts of violence. The joy of coming battle swelled their +breasts and broke out in guttural exclamations. Maa-Wang, with Lursac +and the missionary on his left hand, took his place at their head. +His lips drawn back in a grin of fury, his eyes flaming, he dashed +upon the hostile forces. Behind him the clan flung itself forward like +a whirlwind, and suddenly the temple filled with screams and yells. +Raising their axes like great wood-choppers the men of Gondwana brought +them down in every direction around them. Skulls split with the crash +of their blows: crushed breasts gave way with a softer sound. The flint +weapons, splashed with blood up to the handles, became bright red. +Over the tumult rang groans and the death-rattle of those who fell. +Two braziers were over-turned, flinging their flaming coals right and +left, and the smell of burning and a cloud of smoke mingled with the +hot and bitter tang of blood. The war-cry of the clan, the long and +sonorous _o ... ô ... iê ... êp_ ..., dominated the strident screams of +the sorceresses. A staggering body, falling, brought down with it other +bodies and the tiled floor became clouded with blood. + +Driven back on itself and ripped to pieces, the troop of sorceresses +slowly gave way. A bo-jaou, her smashed face spurting blood, jumped +at Lursac, trying to grasp him with clutching hands. Maa-Wang with a +single blow of his fist knocked her headlong backwards, and plunged +forward, his arms plastered with red patches, his face splashed with +blood, a short low growl coming ceaselessly from his throat, the true +frenzy of fight possessing him utterly. About a dozen hunters who were +all wounded were cornered in an angle of the building and fighting a +losing fight against an encompassing mass of Moï warriors; but he gave +no thought to them. His aim was the door of the sanctuary. In front of +him and around him the cluster of battling human beings swarmed and +circled, gave way, fell and rolled in agony; wounded men, trampled +upon, screamed. A Moï warrior, with an axe sunk deep in his naked back +ran before him, stumbled, and collapsed. + +The missionary, his rosary in his hand, walked steadily forward, and +the Man, for a second, threw an astonished glance at this strange being +who walked at his side in the middle of this butchery, calmly, with a +sad face, unarmed and silent. When they had reached the door, he looked +at him a second time, still without understanding, and saw him at that +very moment fling up his arms, stumble and fall, his side laid open by +a sword blow. As Lursac with a cry ran to the priest, he stopped him, +leant over quickly, lifted up the body in his left arm and ran through +the doorway. Behind him, Pierre and some twenty hunters rushed down the +passageway, shouting. Between the walls, lighted up by the tripods, a +confused mass of Moï warriors and sorceresses was running away. The +hunters in their turn ran. The noise of the battle grew less and died +away behind them and once more they found themselves in a silence only +broken by the panting of their own breath.... + +Outside, in the great court they came to a stop. + +In a corner under a tree the six elephants of the expedition, recently +captured by the Moïs, were standing tied to the columns; the mahouts +with their arms and legs bound shivered with fright as they saw these +strange beings approaching them. + +Against the lightening sky, still sown with stars, stood out the +piled-up roofs of the buildings. The moon, pale and narrow, was pierced +by the spike of one of the turrets. The air was soft and warm. A gentle +breeze which could hardly be felt brought with it the vast murmur of +the surrounding forest. + +Grouped about their chief the hunters stood waiting. + +Maa-Wang had laid the body of the missionary on the ground; he looked +around, and seeing the elephants he walked towards them. Dazed, and +with a great gash on his forehead, Pierre had sat himself down on the +root of a banyan tree. From time to time he mechanically wiped away the +blood which flowed down into his eyes and along his nose. Exhaustion +had left his muscles relaxed and his nerves in a pitiable state; and he +remained there motionless, shaken by the throbs of his exhausted heart. +Dizziness, against which he vainly tried to fight, was overcoming him. +Every minute he was coming nearer to complete collapse. He wanted to +get up and walk about, but his drained energy could not bring itself to +the point, and he stayed there, corpse-like and inert. + +Near by, under the tree, Maa-Wang unbound a mahout and helped him to +hoist himself on to the neck of one of the animals. Together they came +up to the remnants of the clan and the chief ejaculated a few words, +short and forcible. + +Two men picked up Pierre and carried him to the kneeling elephant. +Maa-Wang himself had taken charge of the missionary; he had picked him +up in his arms and carried the long thin body against his breast as +one carries a child. Pierre realized vaguely that he was being bound +on to the back of the beast. Then he felt a sudden pitching movement, +and realized that the animal was getting up. But although he tried +desperately, he was not strong enough to open his eyes; and he gave up, +and, his will in abeyance, lay supine. + +Maa-Wang then raised his hand. The elephant, followed by the hunters, +moved forward and passing through the long vaulted entrance came to +a stop again in front of the temple. The tribe, grouped about their +chief, seemed to be waiting. He stretched out his arm and with a +circular gesture pointed to the great territory which lay unrolled +before him,--the vast scene, which appeared to have no limits and which +the strengthening light of the day made clearer, showing a confusion of +the great jumbled mass of mountain crests, plateaus and hills. + +"I promised to lead you to the great hunting ground, to the country +without walls, and it is before you.... Go!... As for me ... I stay +here.... Someone else whom you will pick for yourselves will become the +Man-who-goes-in-Front." + +He was silent. + +Around him the hunters stood wordless; they gazed at the new world +which was being opened to them and their faces reflected the +contradictory feelings which swept through their minds: amazed wonder, +the intoxication of endless spaces across which they were about to +travel, and the fear of the Unknown. One of them suddenly made up his +mind and set off; and the others in small groups ran after him in their +turn. + +Maa-Wang watched them go; and when they had faded into almost invisible +shadows he turned to the mahout: + +"You are free.... Go. Take these two back where they came from." + +Without awaiting an answer from the Lao-ese he lifted the heavy club +and brought it down on the back of the elephant who promptly started +forward. For an instant longer he stared, following with his eyes the +elephant who had already begun to swing up the slope of the Pou-Kas +carrying, hanging at its sides, the two human bodies. + +Then, turning round, he ran back to the temple. + + * * * * * + +He made his way back to the hall of the God, where the battle had taken +place a few minutes earlier. The signs of it were still visible. Bodies +of dead warriors were strewn pell-mell about the sanctuary; the white +tiling was here and there stained with large dark patches which grew +black as they coagulated; the dying coals of the over-turned braziers +sent up a bitter-smelling smoke, the smell of which mingled with the +unmistakable smell of stale blood. In a corner the hunters who had +been overwhelmed by a superior number of Moï warriors lay in a group +of corpses, and the red furs which they had worn were huddled together +with the broken bodies of the Moï guards, with whom, tangled together +even in death, they had fought to the bitter end. Axes, lances and +swords lay about on the ground. Groans and the moaning of a woman lying +on her back with a lance through her chest rose in the cloudy air. At +the foot of a winged dragon a Moï warrior with his side laid open by a +great wound was still twisting about in his last agony. + +All this he saw as he went, just as he saw vaguely behind the three +silver embroidered veils the enormous dark red statue in its eternal +attitude of blessing and peace. But he had left it all behind him, +for he had found again the subterranean passage, the gallery and the +cell. And at last he emerged from the temple at the foot of the giant +foundation-wall. + +The blaze of the sunshine, after the shadows and darkness of the rooms +and corridors which he had just crossed, dazzled him. He blinked his +eyes, and stopped to make sure of his direction. Then he ran towards +the grotto in which he had enclosed his prey, the living trophy of +his victory. On his breast, on his left thigh, and on his shoulder, +savage wounds ran blood, but he felt them not. He thought only of +the golden-haired woman. His desire for her, and the pride of having +conquered as she had told him to, swept from his mind all other +feeling and all consideration of everything else. He came near the +cave in which she was waiting for him. A last bound brought him to the +entrance--and he saw it yawning open, all the rocks which he had piled +up against it flung to one side. + +After a short pause of stupefaction, he jumped into the cave. It was +empty. He remained a second without understanding, looking at the +ground stamped with footmarks, the mouth of the cavern, and the huge +stones flung about the entrance. Then, bending down, he picked up a +strip of white silk tunic, and this rag, which he recognized as the +same material which Jieng wore as her sacred uniform and which he found +now in the very place where he had shut up his vanished prey, filled +him with insane rage.... + +A cry like that of a wild beast sprang from his throat. All his animal +fury came back in full force: he rushed towards the temple. A single +thought, a single instinct drove him: to find his woman, to take her +and carry her away.... Once more he came out into the sanctuary. His +face contorted in frenzy, he looked about him, seeking and running from +one shadowed corner to another, looking behind the pillars, upsetting +the braziers, savagely mutilating with his axe the granite idols that +he found in his way. His lust for murder became a paroxysm! He growled +without ceasing; and before his haggard eyes the light of the brazier +fires seemed to grow larger and to mix one with the other. The hall of +the temple looked red to him ... red ... for he was now nothing but a +brute beast in delirium.... He ran straight ahead, turning neither to +the right nor to the left; and suddenly he found himself opposite the +three silver veils facing the statue of the God. He flung himself madly +upon them. The curtains, torn apart, fell upon him. He fought with +them, rending them to shreds and stamping on them. Then he attacked +the image of the God. The arms, the face, and the metal body of the +Divinity splintered by his club were defaced, broken and wrecked. It +rocked on its base; a final blow flung it crashing to the ground. +Hanging over it he tore from the image the barbaric collar that it +wore about its neck, then he set himself again to pounding it into +fragments.... + +Through the silence the sound of his blows rang and rang until the +idol was nothing but a broken heap of formless wreckage. Leaving it +then, he resumed his furious course and burst howling into a corridor. +He crossed other halls and other passages, swinging his club about +him at random. From his open wounds the blood trickled and ran in +streams spattering the tiles and the walls. Fragments of stone and the +splinters from the flint of his club had struck him in the face; the +cuts they had made had bloodied his forehead and his cheeks. He was red +from his hair to his heels. Everything that was human in him was in +abeyance. He was now only a male animal, a brute, mad with the frenzy +of battle and disappointed desire. + +He continued his aimless rush through the temple, crossing room after +room; but now on his way phantoms slid from his path and hid themselves +behind pillars, reappearing behind him, following his course and +accompanying him, invisible, but every moment more numerous. At last +he arrived in a narrow room without any other exit than a lofty door, +above which, on a cornice formed by a heavy marble slab the granite +image of a giant dragon stood on guard. He ran straight for the door +but just as he was crossing the threshold with a sudden crash the +dragon fell, pinning him to the ground.... + +He fell without a cry. + +And while the priestesses swarmed out from all the dark corners and ran +towards him, two sorceresses, crouched on the edge of the cornice from +which they had pushed the fallen dragon, leant over and watched the +trickles of blood which began to flow and spread from under the massive +stone monster.... + + + + + CHAPTER XXV + + ESCAPE + + +The elephant, with a heavy swinging gait, made its way through the +green shade of the forest. Hanging from its side Lursac, with wide open +eyes, shivered all over. Around him floated the stagnant, decaying +smell of the undergrowth, like the sickening and enervating atmosphere +of a hot greenhouse. The vegetation became thicker. A dull greenish +half-light, like an illumination at the bottom of the sea, seemed to +suck the color from the bushes and spread over the massed verdure a +uniform light as of the interior of a tomb. + +Hours passed thus, and finally the light grew dimmer. An acrid mist +rising from the soil spread itself in long streamers and floated upward +like a pallid veil. Under the frondage the dusk became more sombre and +violent in tint; a shaft of reddish light struck through the branches, +lingered for a moment; then suddenly darkness spread over the mountain +and invaded the depths of the forest. The mahout continued to urge on +his beast. The voices of the night arose, and unknown cries came out of +the darkness. But now Pierre was delirious. Great phantoms, grotesque +and nameless, danced and fled before his eyes. Imaginary scenes rose up +before him, and with all his strength he tried to pursue them. He could +not sleep; he hung there motionless watching the peopled night before +him with fixed eyes.... + +In his waxen and rigid face only his eyes seemed to be still alive. +They stared straight in front with a burning gaze focussed in the far +distance. Now and again the strange shapes which inhabited the darkness +caused him to break into a terrified laugh. The suspension of his +reasoning powers had left him just a wounded animal clinging to life in +spite of everything, with nothing but a persistent instinct to guide +him. + +Suddenly Father Ravennes, his head hanging loose and jerking with +the steps of the elephant, began to groan. His moans broke the heavy +silence of the night steadily, persistently, with a sound that was +gently monotonous. And this was the last noise which Pierre remembered +before falling into the depths of an unconsciousness as deep as death. + + * * * * * + +It was still this moaning that he heard when he came out of his +insensibility and had begun reaching towards life again. He opened his +eyes. It was day. Above his head he saw the leafy summit of a tree--the +only thing within his circle of vision--with branches of a green that +was almost black and leaves of a more vivid hue. He tried to move, to +sit up, but an intense weakness held him full length on the earth, his +backbone pressed to the cold damp soil and his face staring at the sky +and watching through the leaves the trailing streaks of gray cloud. + +He did not understand it yet. What was he doing there? Why were these +trees all round him? + +The groaning continued. Now and then it stopped, but went on again more +heavily. He turned his head in the direction of the sound and he found, +a few paces away from him, the missionary, his back supported against +the trunk of a tamarind, his eyes closed, his face livid, and his +half-open mouth emitting this endless moaning. + +Suddenly his brain was flooded by a wave of remembrance which swept +away his passive acceptance of things as they were. He struggled to his +knees and cried out: + +"Wanda!... Wanda!..." + +Clutching the tree under which he had been lying, he managed to stand +up, but he had to cling to the trunk to prevent himself falling. +Leaning against it he cast a hesitating glance about him. He was on +the outside of the forest, opposite a narrow clearing which ended in +a definite opening, looking out upon a valley of which he was able to +see the further end stretching southward to the horizon. Close by him, +at his very feet, a ray of light struck down between two branches and +broke in fragments of gold on the patches of moss. The dense shadows of +the trees fell on the ground in parallel bars of black shade. A lizard, +pressed into the warm hollows of the rock, shrilled its short musical +cry. Dazed, and with flickering eyes, Lursac remained motionless. +The sun flamed overhead, flooding the scene beyond the forest with +merciless light. The radiant air seemed to vibrate. + +The young man drew in one deep breath after another; the blood came +back to his face and he cried again: + +"Wanda!... Wanda!..." + +At the sound of his voice the priest opened his eyes and his groaning +became louder and more heart-rending. Pierre shook his head, trying +with every ounce of strength that was in him to conquer his weakness. +He managed to walk heavily and slowly in the direction of the +missionary. When he got close up to him he felt like fainting at the +terrible sight which he saw. + +The whole side of the priest's tunic was stiff with coagulated blood. +In the middle of this, through the rents made by the Moï sword, two +ghastly wounds could be seen covered with ants,--the terrible red ants +of the Lao-ese forest--which swarmed to the attack in a column along +the leg of the helpless man. + +Before the horror of the martyrdom which the missionary was undergoing +and must have suffered for hours, Lursac shuddered and had to clench +his teeth to prevent himself from crying out. He ran at the insects +and dispersed them with stamps and blows, sweeping them away with his +hands and tramping them into the ground. Then he pushed the priest +a little further off to protect him from their attacks and laid him +gently down. Tenderly raising the edges of the tears in the clothes +he exposed the two wounds: a great deep slash in the side through +which at every respiration the blood pumped afresh, and down the leg a +long jagged tear. With a strip from the lining of his military tunic, +Pierre cleaned the wounds, sweeping out the voracious insects which +still clung there, and did his pitiful best to make the dying man +comfortable. It was when he saw his own hands bathed in the blood of +his friend like those of a butcher that once again a mortal sickness +came over him and he was on the point of fainting. + +The priest closed his eyes; he was no longer groaning. He murmured: + +"Thank you.... I am not in pain now...." + +Trying to raise his hand, he whispered: + +"My cross." + +Pierre, taking off the rosary of black wood which hung from the +missionary's neck, put it between his fingers. The pale hand fumbled +with the beads until it reached the silver cross, which it gripped +caressingly. His features suddenly relaxed and took on an appearance of +peaceful sweetness. + +"And you ... you? ..." he muttered. + +Pierre understood his thought; tears rose to his eyes. + +He shrugged his shoulders wearily. + +"Don't worry about me," he said, "I will take you home.... +Afterwards ... afterwards ... I do not know...." + +The priest moved his head; his voice became stronger, almost clear: + +"No.... I am done for.... I am dying ... here in the heart of this +country which I have loved so much and where I have suffered so +much...." + +His gray beard suddenly seemed to become darker against the livid +pallor of his face. + +"And then, I have seen," he said, "that wonderful thing, the Red Gods: +a prehistoric tribe such as used to be thirty thousand years ago...." + +A scarcely visible smile fluttered on his colorless lips. + +"My God," he whispered, "pardon me!... This is my last attack of +pride...." + +He gave a groan; the movement having sent a spasm of torture through +his side, he shut his eyes. His wax-like lids became gradually mauve, +then white with a whiteness that seemed unreal and almost transparent. + +Pierre bent over him, heard him murmuring softly, peacefully: + +"Since it is here that you have willed that I should die.... Thy holy +will be done, O God!..." + +Then in a voice now vague and indistinct he said once more: + +"Sweet Jesus, give me rest!..." + +His words became still more indistinct and confused, and he repeated +several times: + +"Rest ... rest...." + +And then he was silent. The pale and shrunken hand which pressed the +crucifix against his lips stiffened, slipped, and fell back on his +breast. + + * * * * * + +For a long time Pierre remained on his knees in contemplation +before this ascetic, sad, waxen face now smiling with a curious +smile--peaceful, tender and serene--a last gleam from this great sweet +and kindly soul.... + +Then in a sort of unconscious torpor, against which vague images +floated, flickered and vanished, he thought of the conventional rites; +but the earth in which he would have dug a bed for this poor martyred +body was cold and hard, full of tangled roots and crossed by veins of +rock, and he had to content himself with drawing the corpse to the +foot of a tree and covering it with a thick mass of leaves, branches +and moss. From the branch of the tree above he hung the rosary of the +priest, and over the rough and ready tomb the silver crucifix swung +softly in the breeze. + +When Pierre had finished this last office for his dead friend, he sat +down and wiped the sweat from his face. He stayed motionless, delving +among the remembrances of his childhood for the words of a prayer, but +nothing came--only a single phrase kept recurring to his mind, and he +repeated it mechanically over and over again: + +"Our Father which art in Heaven.... Our Father which art in Heaven...." + +The rest of the invocation had lost itself in the troubled night of +forgetfulness, in a mingling and changing wave of images, thoughts and +feelings which rushed into his mind, passed through it and fled.... + +Wanda.... The Post.... Redeski.... The temple.... The ravine of +Gondwana.... The aurochs.... The mammoths.... Jieng.... The battle in +the sanctuary.... The caverns.... And then Wanda again.... Wanda.... +Wanda.... Wanda...! + +He stood up: an immense despair fell upon him. He looked again at the +simple tomb in which the missionary was sleeping; then he went. His +legs bent under him with weakness, his brain reeled, as he walked +towards the edge of the clearing. At the same moment a bell in the +distance began to sound slowly. Stupefaction struck Pierre motionless, +then a shock drove him forwards. A bell: houses, ... white men, ... +help, ... life.... He ran forward stumbling, and, suddenly opening his +arms wide, he fell on his knees. + +At the bottom of the green, level valley, which he saw before him and +recognized immediately, there was no longer any Post 32.... Its wrecked +palisades showed great breaches. Against the background of the canal, +which flowed peaceably on its way as usual, the burned piling showed +its blackened stumps: of the huts which had sheltered Wanda and himself +so recently, of the sheds which served as lodgings for the riflemen, of +the stables and the guardhouse, nothing was left but five gray patches +out of which stuck blackened beams. + +But on the horizon, in the midst of its green peaceful oasis the bell +of the Mission still sounded, and across the military post, which the +people of the forest had just destroyed for the third time, its frail +metallic voice was wafted on the wind, ringing the evening Angelus. + + + + + CHAPTER XXVI + + A MESSAGE FROM JIENG + + +Buttoning up his waistcoat, Pierre went to the window and pushed open +the blinds. A wave of sunlight flooded his little room, lighting up +the whitewashed walls and making the copper-mounted bed sparkle. Under +its influence, the odor of drugs which had filled the room seemed to +evaporate from the two arm-chairs and the bamboo table loaded with +pots and bottles. Outside, the clock that ornamented the façade of the +hospital struck the hour, five clear leisurely strokes, which fell +slowly, one by one, in the vast sluggishness of the afternoon. Other +blinds were thrown back noisily, and little by little life pursued its +daily resurrection after the torrid hours of the siesta. + +Leaning on his elbows at his window, Pierre let his glance wander over +the familiar scene. Beyond the great veranda which ran the whole length +of the building, and upon which the rooms of the patients opened, +he could see the hospital park spreading out with its green turf +and leafy trees, and between them the sanded walks, stretching like +yellow ribbons striped alternately with shadow and sunlight. Far off, +half seen through the gaps in the foliage, shone the whiteness of the +hospital wall which kept at a distance the noise and the traffic of +Saigon. + +Pierre stretched himself and tried his muscles. He felt himself +very weak, his nerves flabby and his body heavy; the slowness and +uncertainty of each of his movements showing him how complete had been +his physical breakdown, how deep and lasting the disarrangement of his +vital mechanism to which five months of hospital treatment had only +succeeded in bringing back a weak illusion of energy, a pretense of +strength.... He smiled bitterly. Nothing would ever bring back to him +the vigor of his body, the richness and the freshness of his blood--in +a word, his youth!... And his mind itself, disrupted by suffering, +suddenly appeared to him old, worn out and pitiful. + +The noise of the door opening behind him interrupted his gloomy +thoughts. + +He turned about, raising his sallow face to the Sister of Charity who +had just entered. She smiled softly, with that self-effacing smile +which was habitual with her: + +"Well, my child, I hope you are pleased. Today for the first time you +are to be allowed to go out into the park." + +He made no answer, keeping his expression of indifference and +depression. + +She shook her head, making the white wings of her head-dress flap to +and fro: + +"How do you feel?" + +She looked into his eyes. + +"Come," said she, "that's enough of those black thoughts. Come for a +walk outside--the sun will do you good." + +He bowed his head and remained motionless and lifeless. + +"Listen, Sister Thérèse," he said, "I want...." + +He hesitated, his eyes sought the eyes of the sister: + +"What?" she asked, "still full of questions, eh? How did you get here? +This is the twentieth time you have asked me that, but I know nothing +about it, my child. If I knew, I would tell you, you know that! Why +should I want to hide it from you? But no, I promise you.... They +brought you here one evening; I was on duty, and I took you in and +looked after you. You were delirious, and I thought,--I can tell you +this now that you are practically cured--that you were going to slip +away from me. And then you had an attack of gastritis complicated with +brain-fever and you talked ... you talked...." + +Pierre raised his head quickly. + +"What did I say?" + +"How do I know? If you think I take notice of all the nonsense my +patients talk! I have lots of other things to think about. First of all +I had to prevent you getting out of bed, and your one idea was to dress +yourself and start off." + +She spoke lightly, accompanying her phrases with gestures. Underneath +her words could be felt the joy which she experienced in seeing this +patient of hers, for whose life she had fought hour by hour, up and +about again. She took his arm and shook it affectionately. + +"Now, go, you stupid!" she said. "Underneath the wall over there you +will find your friends. Talk with them: it will ease your mind. They +will tell you the latest scandal of Saigon. You will see, they have +lots of jokes--at least I suppose so from hearing their shouts of +laughter--for they take very good care never to tell them to me, the +scamps!" + +And she pushed him out of the door and shut it behind his back with a +little laugh. + + * * * * * + +Pierre found himself under the veranda. The sweetish smell of the +bougainvilleas in flower, the stems of which crept in masses over the +wooden balustrade, floated heavily in the air and mingled with the +stale odor of drugs, whiffs of which escaped from the open door. Rolled +up in rugs, their skeleton-like bodies loose in the hospital pyjamas +of gray wool, the convalescents lay, trying to accustom their eyes to +the blazing light which fell from a cloudless sky the color of deep +turquoise. A gentle breeze drifted among the deck-chairs, enveloping +the patients with its kindly warmth. + +Pierre went down a staircase and came out into an avenue. He walked +slowly with short steps as groping and uncertain as his thoughts. +In the middle of a circle of turf a watering-pipe sent up a mist of +spray which the setting sun edged with a miniature rainbow. A vast +peace lay over the whole park,--a satisfying and contemplative silence +broken only here and there by the sudden whistlings of birds. Pierre, +following his course, came into an avenue of flame-trees: on the bare +earth large purple blossoms fallen from the branches made spots of +vivid red across the patches of shade which were riddled with little +circles of sunlight ceaselessly trembling and dancing among them. + +At the end of the avenue a chorus of cries greeted him: + +"Aha, Lursac! Out for the first time?" + +"This is better than the native huts!" + +Pierre acknowledged the greetings with a weary movement of his hand. + +There were four of them--four young men escaped like himself from the +privations of the forest and re-united here by the chances of sickness. +One down from Cambodia, two from the Chinese frontier and the fourth +just brought in from Cochin-China. + +This last said to him: + +"Yes ... it is a good deal better. As for me, when they let me out +after three months in bed...." + +And he went off into a long account of his own convalescence. + +Pierre lay back in an arm-chair by the table on which playing-cards +were lying about in disorder by open newspapers. + +The man who had spoken first--a big fellow with laughing eyes and +sarcastic mouth--took one of the papers, unfolded it, looking for +something. + +"Here you are, old chap. There's something about you in this ... half a +column at least. 'The famous Post 32 again!' Good heading, eh? As for +the article, it is a regular wonder, nothing better was ever invented +in any editorial office!" + +Pierre stretched out his hand for it. + +"No, listen.... I'll read it to you out loud. It is worth the +trouble!..." + +And in his mocking voice he declaimed: + + "'THE FAMOUS POST 32 AGAIN + + "'Without doubt our readers will remember the tragedy which took + place here some five months ago at the foot of the Pou-Kas, the + scene of which was Post 32, long celebrated in the annals of our + Indo-Chinese history. For those of our readers who have forgotten + this sad affair we will give a brief resumé of it. M. de Lursac, + a young administrator with splendid prospects ... (I salute you, + my boy; the Press admires you! It is the only original passage in + the article. I continue:) ... a young administrator with splendid + prospects was despatched at his own request to Post 32, the + responsibility for which he was to share with Lieutenant Redeski. + Administrator Lursac had been ordered to proceed, on taking up his + duties, with a police operation against the independent Moï tribes + of the district. Everybody still remembers the result of this + expedition. Starting out in company with the Rev. Father Ravennes, + of the Apostolic Mission to the Banhars, M. de Lursac was found a + month later wandering in the forest in a condition of collapse and + sickness which left the possibility of his recovery doubtful for + a long time. His escort of native riflemen scattered in continual + attacks, his elephants killed by poisoned arrows, his reverend + companion dead by the way of a wound received in an ambush, he + was alone in the midst of the vast Lao-ese forest. M. de Lursac + was attempting to find his way back to the Post when he fell, + conquered by weakness and exhaustion; but he had succeeded, thanks + to an extraordinary will power ... (I greet you once more!) ... + in reaching the outskirts of it, and it was at a distance of only + a few miles from the station which had been destroyed during his + absence that the converts of Father Ravennes discovered the young + administrator, dying, and in a state of destitution impossible + to describe. We understand that a successor to him has just been + appointed. Would it not be better before uselessly sacrificing + the lives and energies of our young men ... (All salute him, + gentlemen!) ... to first of all set to work seriously to clean out + the district and to put down with an iron hand this rebellious + horde that makes our rule over this part of the hinterland simply + illusory? It appears to us indeed, impossible that the authorities + who pretend to be so anxious about it, etc., etc.' + +"Then follows a whole list of suggestions--all illusory, as the editor +of this estimable journal would say--in which the Colonial Government +gets a few of these truths which it is customary to hand it on +occasion.... What have you got to say about it, young administrator of +most splendid prospects?" + +He stopped speaking. All eyes turned to Lursac. He considered. What +could he tell them? The truth!... Ah! the truth!... He shrugged his +shoulders, deciding to leave uncontradicted the fantastic version given +by the Saigon papers. + +But the other obstinately asked a definite question: + +"How much truth is there in all this nonsense?" + +Pierre felt that it was necessary to give some answer. + +"Sentences here and there!" he said, evasively. "It was very simple.... +The _linhs_ deserted almost at once; the mahouts in their turn got away +with their animals and all the provisions, so that I found myself one +fine day alone with Father Ravennes, who had been wounded the night +before during an attack on a village. We wandered through the forest +aimlessly, straying here and there and going in a circle and then ... +and then...." + +He shut his eyes. An unconquerable lassitude fell upon him, he lay back +heavily in his chair. + +"And then," continued the voice of one of the young men, "you woke up +in hospital. Here or elsewhere it is always the same story. Some leave +their skins behind and others bring them out with them. That's life, +that is!... They give us an order, we carry it out. As for the rest, it +all depends on the will of Buddha. As my girl says to me, 'We are in +the hands of the Perfect One!'" + +He crumpled up the paper, rolled it into a ball and flung it over the +wall. + +There was a long silence. In the street which ran just the other side +of the wall, the rhythmic trot of a rickshaw coolie came up, passed by, +and died into the distance, and then a song rose; it was the song of a +beggar imploring charity in a tremulous tearful voice. The sun, slowly +descending, shot slanting rays of light across the avenues of the park. +The sky, changing slowly through gold and purple, became mauve: the +piping birds sounded more softly and less often: an invisible bell +behind the wall of trees and buildings sounded out in short repeated +strokes. + +The young men got up. + +"Are you coming, Lursac?" + +Pierre was recalling the past. Once more he saw Ravennes and the humble +tomb of greenery above it; and in the depths of the vast Lao-ese forest +the rosary that would swing its crucifix of tarnished silver whenever +the wind blew from the north down the slope of the Pou-Kas. He thought +of Wanda. Where was she, and what had become of her? Was she still a +prisoner of the tribe? Prisoner?... + +He saw again the wild rush of the men of Gondwana. He thought of the +love of their chief for Wanda. Prisoner? Ah!... Ah!... + +A hand shook him: + +"Lursac! Here, Lursac! When are you going to finish dreaming with your +eyes open? The first dinner bell has just rung. Are you coming?" + +Suddenly the song of the beggar on the other side of the wall died away. + +Pierre shook his head. + +"I have plenty of time," he said, "it is still quarter of an hour to +the second bell." + +The young men, careless, left him. One of them began telling a +scandalous story which was going the round in Saigon. Gradually his +voice and the laughter of his fellows became indistinct as they moved +away. + +Once more fallen into a revery, Pierre felt a bitter pleasure in again +going over his sufferings in detail. Suddenly his former despair fell +upon him. Again he was tortured,--perhaps more terribly than he had +ever been. His grief which had remained in abeyance during his illness +came alive again. His heart contracted; he called out, hoarsely: + +"Wanda!... Wanda!..." + +Behind the tall white wall the dragging footstep of the beggar and her +song came again--then something pale, flung from the street, fell on +an arm-chair, rebounded and rolled on the ground. Pierre, surprised, +remained motionless for a second. The song had again ceased and hurried +steps could be heard making away. Bending down he picked up the object +and examined it. It was a packet, carefully done up in a dirty rag. +Opening it with an instinctive fear he looked at the contents and +seized with a convulsive fit of trembling remained nailed to his seat, +incapable of moving.... Then, he rushed to the entrance gate. The +rifleman on guard, scared at his violence, watched him go out without +making any effort to stop him. There was not a soul in the street. +Pierre made the complete circuit of the hospital, running as hard as +he could, coming back to the entrance gate. Then dashing into the next +street he followed it exhausted, his heart beating so as to suffocate +him, until he could run no longer. His clenched hand clung to the +packet. + +About him people hurried to and fro, elbowing him and pushing him aside +without his noticing it. At the corner of the boulevard he was almost +run over. The coachman, flinging himself back on his seat with the +reins pulled up tight, dragged his ponies to one side and missed him +by an inch, cursing him volubly. He heard him not and noticed nothing. +His eyes looking straight before him saw a phantom which fled him +ceaselessly and which he as ceaselessly pursued. + +At last, opposite a shop window he pulled up. The glass of the +window reflected his own image and he looked at it for a moment with +stupefaction. Was that he?... This fleshless skeleton of a body ... +with gestures feverish, ugly and grotesque? Was that the body of him, +Pierre de Lursac?... That livid face, all flat hollows and projecting +bones; this withered flesh; these wrinkles; these eyes shining with +fever and yet dull; these loose burned up lips--all these things ... +were they his eyes, his face, his mouth?... He gave a terrible grin and +clenched his fists; the packet which he was still carrying crackled.... +And once more he resumed his aimless way. + + * * * * * + +Under the arched trees along the avenues the shade was deeper. +Rickshaws and carriages went about hurriedly to unknown destinations. +The usual life cast up its flood of passers-by, its under-current of +natives, its noises, its smells;--and he, among it all, was like a +scrap of flotsam drifting at random.... Then night fell, and lights +shone through the dark. They became fewer and disappeared altogether +for a while, for he was following a road which led out of the city and +ran across the open country. + +He still kept going.... He came to a canal and followed it. The voices +of sampan men came to him and the smell of Annamese cooking. At long +distances between, a victoria, a malabar and a few rickshaws passed him +or met him. The light of their lanterns striking out in the darkness +threw a brief illumination upon him and shed a narrow, yellow light +on the opposite side of the road which quickly fled away from him and +disappeared.... + +Then, again, he found himself in the neighborhood of a crowd of human +beings, the lights and the human scurryings of a native village. And +suddenly he came to himself. With a flash the cloud of hallucination +which had encompassed him fell away and vanished. He looked about him +with haggard eyes. He was on the outskirts of Cho-lon. On his left he +could see the dark furrow of the canal crowded with a mass of junks and +sampans and spotted with enormous native lamps; on his right the houses +of the Chinese town rose with their colored lanterns and flamboyant +signs and gildings and their stalls. + +He hesitated. Casting a heavy glance over the canal with its black and +oily water, stagnant between its muddy banks, he then turned towards +the town and saw in front of him a shop above which a panel of black +lacquer bore in gold letters the name of the proprietor. He read +mechanically between two columns of Chinese characters: + + TSEN-TAC + + CHINESE CURIOS AND SILKS + + CANTON. SAIGON. SHANGHAI. + +He said to himself: + +"Tsen-Tac?... Tsen-Tac?..." + +This name brought to life in some obscure corner of his mind a sleeping +memory. Suddenly he remembered: at the bottom of the passageway in the +inner shop: Opium,--the drug that gives forgetfulness and peace. + +Making up his mind he walked to the door and pushed it open violently. +The pot-bellied owner, with his little narrow eyes lost among the +billowings of his vast face, greeted him with an obsequious smile. He +was already framing a phrase of welcome when Pierre cut him short with +a rough shrug of the shoulders. + +"Shandoo," he said heavily. + +And he rattled several piastres in the bottom of his pocket. + +The "compere"[20] made his smile still broader. His fat face took on an +air of secrecy. He flung a cautious look around the empty shop and then +with his hand, sparkling with rings of pink and green jade, he pointed +to a hanging in the furthest corner. + +[Footnote 20: Name given to the Chinese.] + +Pierre, raising it, slid into the passage. In front of him at the +further end stood a door, lighted by a dim lantern of figured silk. He +stopped for a second, pushing his hands into his pockets. With a hoarse +sigh, he felt the packet which had come to him in such a strange manner +a few hours earlier and he began to withdraw his hand slowly, bringing +out with it towards the light the.... A shudder shook him from head to +foot. He could not complete the movement; more haggard than before, if +possible, he bent his head.... + +"I cannot ... not yet.... Later ... presently.... When I have smoked +ten pipes ... twelve pipes.... When the opium has.... Then, yes.... +I will see if it is really her ... her hand ... with the ring ... my +signet ring...." + +An uncontrollable sob shook him. + +Once more he repeated: + +"Her hand ... her hand...." + +And he pushed open the door and entered the opium den. + + * * * * * + +[Transcriber's Note: Inconsistent hyphenation left as printed.] + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79053 *** diff --git a/79053-h/79053-h.htm b/79053-h/79053-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..433d364 --- /dev/null +++ b/79053-h/79053-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13663 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="UTF-8"> + <title> + The Red Gods | Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .51em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .49em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: 33.5%; + margin-right: 33.5%; + clear: both; +} + +hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} +hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} +@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } +hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%;} +div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} +h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + +x-ebookmaker-drop {display: none;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.right {text-align: right;} + +.smcap { font-variant:small-caps; } + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} + +div.titlepage { + text-align: center; + page-break-before: always; + page-break-after: always; +} + +div.titlepage p { + text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em; + font-weight: bold; + line-height: 1.5; + margin-top: 3em; +} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; } +table.autotable td, +table.autotable th { padding: 4px; } + +.tdl {text-align: left;} +.tdr {text-align: right;} +.tdc {text-align: center;} + +.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } +.ph1 { font-size: x-large; margin: .83em auto; } + +.ph2 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } +.ph2 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } + +.ph3 { text-align: right; text-indent: 0em; } +.ph3 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnotes {border: 1px dashed;} + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79053 ***</div> + + +<div class="titlepage"> + +<h1>THE RED GODS</h1> + +<p>(<i>LES DIEUX ROUGES</i>)</p> + +<p class="ph1">By JEAN D'ESME</p> + +<p>A ROMANCE</p> + +<p><i>Translated from the French by</i><br> +MOREBY ACKLOM</p> + +<p>NEW YORK<br> +E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY<br> +681 FIFTH AVENUE</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1924<br> +BY E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY</p> + +<p><i>All Rights Reserved</i></p> + +<p>Printed in the United States of America</p> + + +</div> + +<hr class="chap"> + + +<p class="ph2">TRANSLATOR'S NOTE</p> + + +<p>This extraordinary story undoubtedly had its +inception in a peculiar passage in the Report of a +French official mission in Indo-China in 1912, entitled +<i>Les Jungles Moïs</i> (The Moï Jungles). The +translation of the passage runs as follows:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"This is not the first time that I have met this +strange story of savage men, dwellers in the forests +of the mountains. They have been reported from +the wild region of the Annamite range. According +to the local descriptions these 'savages' must be +covered with a thick mat of red hair. They have +been very seldom met with and are now never +seen; but everywhere one still comes upon the +traces which they left behind them."</p> +</div> + +<p>Romances of the discovery of prehistoric or vanished +races are not uncommon; but I cannot recall +any in which the discovery was made the subject +of as splendid a piece of descriptive work, and at +the same time of as poignantly tragic a drama as +in this instance. I think even the most hardened +reader of adventure-stories will admit that in <i>The +Red Gods</i> he has got something distinctly out of +the common.</p> + + +<p class="ph3">M. A.</p> + + +<hr class="chap"> + + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table> +<tr><td class="tdr"></td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#PROLOGUE">PROLOGUE: In Tsen-Tac's Opium Den</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><span class="smcap">Saigon</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><span class="smcap">Up the River</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><span class="smcap">A Fellow Traveler</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><span class="smcap">Post 32</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><span class="smcap">At the Mission</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">VI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><span class="smcap">An Enthusiast Discourses on Pre-Historic Remains</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">VII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><span class="smcap">The Silent Village</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">VIII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><span class="smcap">Love in the Forest</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">IX.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><span class="smcap">An Interview with a Sorceress</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">X.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><span class="smcap">The Fugitive</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><span class="smcap">A Desperate Adventure</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><span class="smcap">Those Left Behind</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XIII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><span class="smcap">The Fugitive's Story</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XIV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><span class="smcap">Into the Unknown</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><span class="smcap">Deepening Mystery</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XVI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><span class="smcap">Near the End of the Journey</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XVII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><span class="smcap">A Freak of Nature</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XVIII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><span class="smcap">Back in the Stone Age</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XIX.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><span class="smcap">Outside the Temple</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XX.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><span class="smcap">Inside the Temple</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><span class="smcap">The Law of Gondwana</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><span class="smcap">Wanda Tells Her Story</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXIII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><span class="smcap">A Terrible Bargain</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXIV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><span class="smcap">The Rescue</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"><span class="smcap">Escape</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXVI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI"><span class="smcap">A Message from Jieng</span></a></td></tr> +</table> + +<hr class="chap"> + + +<h2>THE RED GODS</h2> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<h2>LIST OF PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS</h2> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p><i>Europeans</i></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Pierre de Lursac</span> A young administrative official of French Indo-China.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Father Ravennes</span> Priest of the Apostolic Mission to the Banhars.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Michael Redeski</span> Of the French army: Lieutenant in service in Indo-China.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Wanda</span> His sister.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Rabaud</span> Captain of an up-country river steamer.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Jules Bressond</span> The narrator of the story: a boyhood friend of de Lursac's.</p> + +<p> </p> + +<p><i>Natives</i></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Jieng</span> Chief sorceress and high priestess of the Moï tribes.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Maa-Wang</span> "The-Man-who-goes-in-Front."</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Ngur</span> }</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Pâa</span> } Native guides.</p> +<p><span class="smcap">Hmon</span> A woman of the Stieng tribe.</p> + +<p> </p> + + +<p><i>Scene</i>: The city of Saigon (capital of French Indo-China) +and the unexplored, inaccessible +forests surrounding the Pou-Kas, the principal +peak of the Annamite range.</p> +</div> + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="PROLOGUE">PROLOGUE</h2> +</div> + +<h3>IN TSEN-TAC'S OPIUM DEN</h3> + + +<p>This is the door, here, in front of me! A heavy +door of teak, black and shiny. However, with +my hand on the iron latch, I hesitate, fighting the +subtle uneasiness and irritation which I feel rising +in me. At the back of my mind a question forms: +why do I come here, to the bottom of this hidden +alley at night, I, who seldom or never touch the +opium pipe? Hardly at all: perhaps five or six +pipes now and again on Sundays at the hour of +siesta! Six little pipes, that's nothing! Any regular +opium-smoker will tell you so. Then, why have +I come here tonight? Why? As a matter of fact +I feel that my presence here, behind this back-shop +in the heart of the Chinese town of Cho-lon is silly +and without excuse.... So silly and aimless that +already I have withdrawn my hand, with my mind +made up to retrace my steps along the sombre corridor +and back through the sumptuous mart of +the worthy Tsen-Tac, who sells to knowing connoisseurs +precious silks and out-of-the-way curiosities +brought by the big-bellied junks from China +... and who in addition dispenses, with discretion, +to a few genuine and carefully chosen +smokers, the priceless calm of opium.</p> + +<p>Yes, I shall not stay.... It will be better. The +darkling spirit of the Drug shall not glide through +my blood tonight. I am off.... But fate at this +very moment decides otherwise. At my back, in +the thick shadows a raucous voice cries:</p> + +<p>"In the name of Confucius, get on there!"</p> + +<p>And instinctively, pushing the swing-door, I +enter. A puff of acrid odor, the smell of the wonderful +perfume of Shandoo, at once rough and +voluptuous, assails my senses and makes my heart +leap!</p> + +<p>Behind me the closed door swings open roughly, +and the man who addressed me stumbles into the +room. Pushing by me, he advances to the "boy" +who has run up to meet him. For a second I follow +him with my eyes. His form is broken and bent, +very tall, and so thin that it accentuates the fullness +of the white linen clothes which flap about his +limbs and at moments soften the jagged outline of +his bones. A curious figure, like that of an old +man, skeletonized and moribund; and the more surprising, +in that certain signs reveal the strange +contrast of an undeniable youthfulness in him. +Sure signs: his step, rapid and full of strength; +his movements, quick and jerky, peculiar to those +who are under the domination of the Drug, when +the brown hour of the smoke has arrived. But +what do I care about this unknown man? He hurries +on toward the bottom of the room and disappears. +Without knowing why, I sigh with relief, +and in my turn step forward. The "boy," as I +come, smiles, showing his black enamelled teeth, +and points out to me the bed which lies along the +wall, the great plank platform on which the smokers +lie and dream their strange dreams, while about +them watches and drifts the spirit of the opium.</p> + +<p>With a nod, I assent and give my order.</p> + +<p>"Bamboo: small pipe."</p> + +<p>And, heavily, my body weary, I fling myself +down on the bare wood polished with use, the coolness +of which, through the cloth of my coat, penetrates +deliciously to my flesh....</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The time drifts away.... How many hours? I +do not know, I do not care to know. Stretched out +on my side, with my eyes fixed on the little crystal +lamp topped with its conical globe in which the +flame, like a living tongue, points upward, steady +and reddish, I watch the movements of the "boy" +plunging the steel needle into the sticky Shandoo, +turning it over the lamp and rolling it on the +brown bowl of the pipe.</p> + +<p>With my lips glued to the bamboo tube, blackened +by opium and soaked with its deadly taste, I +breathe in slowly, taking the long inhalations of +the practiced smoker. Then, with my head thrown +back on the pillow of smooth hollowed-out wood, I +fix my eyes on the acrid smoke which trickles from +my expanded nostrils, and of which the clouds, +circling in spirals, rise slowly to the beams of the +ceiling. All is silence. The only sound besides the +bubbling of the cooked pills of opium is the scratching +of the needles on the pipe bowls. Across the +room a divine happiness floats, filling with dreams +the warm dusk which the light of the great silken +Chinese lanterns does not disturb,—just as it +should be!</p> + +<p>Indescribable smell of opium smoke! I no longer +think of anything else! It is the whole universe +for me now; and my whole life flows in the great +sweetness which drifts through my veins, lulling +my senses and making the very marrow of my +bones and the fibres of my muscles weak with +pleasure!...</p> + +<p>Eighth or tenth pipe? What does it matter! +The curtains are drawn, the air is still and pleasant, +the light is faint, as it ought to be, too faint +for any eyes but those of the smokers. Here and +there along the platform the little lamps burn, like +will-o-the-wisps dancing on the dark and sleeping +surface of the wood, and the stretched-out bodies +lie along the wall, the bamboo tubes in their +mouths, while the "boy" bends over and puts fresh +opium in the empty pipes.</p> + +<p>Slowly, very slowly,—for what is the good of +hurrying—are not dreams everlasting?—I raise +my hand. My lips, stiff, clumsy, manage to form +the single word:</p> + +<p>"Tea."</p> + +<p>Silently the Annamese goes off, and I smile with +satisfaction that he has been able to understand +me without having made me go through the effort +of explaining myself. Decidedly Tsen-Tac is a +worthy proprietor, whose servants have been +trained by practiced opium-smokers. I let my eyes +close. Under my neck I feel the wood of the pillow +like a cool and comforting hand, and in my brain, +which has become clear and subtle, all sorts of +strange things appear and move about,—apparitions +which may be souvenirs of another life or +visions of another world,—things reserved for the +initiates of opium,—at any rate things which are +strangely alive in the recesses of my brain and +which one day without doubt will come into my +human thoughts ... unless, when the effects of +the opium have passed away I forget them—which +is quite possible. For everything is possible! +Everything! Except the one thing: that anyone +should touch or interfere with a smoker who is +dreaming over his pipe.</p> + +<p>I lift my lids and turn my head slightly towards +the hand which has just dropped on my shoulder +and committed this most inexcusable offence. My +glance steals upwards, full of disgust, along the +wrist and the arm, up to the face of the man who +does not even know that one must pay absolute +respect to the intoxication of the opium-smoker. +At first with disgust, then in astonishment. It +seems to me, indeed, that I know the face bent +towards me. Where have I seen that expression +before ... and when? It was a long time ago, +certainly, a very long time. The eyes are deep and +black and despairing, eyes which one does not +quickly forget.</p> + +<p>Now the man speaks in a hoarse, muffled voice. +Calling me by my name, he says:</p> + +<p>"Good evening, Jacques. I see that you are +always sensible, as usual. You have had only ten +pipes and here you are waiting for the green tea +of Yun-nan which the boy is making for you. Only +ten pipes, and already you are disgusted at me!"</p> + +<p>He has sat himself down in the attitude of one +of those Lao-ese idols, with his legs crossed, his +hands flat on his thighs, and he smiles upon me +with a faint baffling smile.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I see this surprises you. But I understood +your look at once when you raised your head +towards me. Yes, I saw your scorn at the bottom +of your eyes; exactly as I recognized you at once, +when you came to stretch yourself out beside me, +without noticing, and I said to myself: Here is he +with whom I spent my childhood, and who does not +know me,—<i>because I have aged so much</i>,—I have +aged too soon, much too soon for other men to +know me, even when they have been my childhood +friends."</p> + +<p>He bends over me and looks at me strangely. +He has something ironical and yet almost tender +in his expression that I observe with curiosity. +Then he lifts his head and speaks out loud the very +thought which has just crossed my mind.</p> + +<p>"No. I am neither drunk nor mad! Scarcely +twenty-five pipes. At this moment I have had my +exact dose. Just enough to make me extraordinarily +subtle and clairvoyant; and it is because of +that I am speaking to you. I admit I hesitated a +long time ... or a short one, I do not know +which. What do you think of it? Is it worth the +trouble?</p> + +<p>"Who am I? Bah!... I already told you: +your best friend, he with whom you lived for years +side by side, who shared your games, your pleasures +and your sorrows of childhood. Don't you +remember? Well, I am not surprised. I always +thought that you had a mediocre brain. Unlucky +that the Drug itself has not succeeded in improving +it."</p> + +<p>He interrupts himself for a second to shrug his +shoulders with a yawn of pity. His silence seems +to expect an answer, yet nothing in me protests +against the impertinence, at once brutal and +kindly, of this unknown. The opium has permeated +my soul with wisdom, kindliness and peace. +Indifferent to his questions, I let my eyes wander +over the panels inlaid with mother-of-pearl; the +red hangings, embroidered with yellow characters, +which cover the walls of the smoke-room; the faint +white-clad forms, which move fitfully from time to +time on the long vista of the platform, sighing +heavily. But already the harsh voice of the +stranger is beginning again:</p> + +<p>"Really, don't you remember Dinard? The +beach at Port Blanc, blazing in the sunshine; the +green water of the little bay in which we bathed +every day in July? Don't you remember the house +where we spent our vacations, covered all over +with wild vine, its two little doorways of green +wood, the spindle trees in line along the railings, +and the clumps of hydrangeas on which the sun, +striking through the trees, flung splashes of gold +in which the blackbirds used to come and +scold?...</p> + +<p>"And then later, don't you remember our school, +the dear old Colonial School of the Avenue d'Observation, +and the Luxembourg,—the old Luco +where we used to leave our 'box' on autumn evenings +and go to gaze at the falling dusk and the +first yellow leaves which the breeze drove fluttering +down from the trees and rolled gaily round the +white statues on their gray pedestals?...</p> + +<p>"What! You don't? You remember nothing?... +Doesn't that recall anything to you? Poor +brute!..."</p> + +<p>Again he has bent over me, and he smiles with +his face close to mine. But in vain I seek in my +past and dig among the recollections of dead days +in the corners of my memory. I cannot manage to +recognize this man who pretends to have been the +play-fellow of my youth. However, Yes!... I +feel that everything that he has just reminded me +of is right, and that these scenes that he has revived +were formerly the background of my life! But +what about him? I fling down my eyes with weariness +and even with irritation.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, his voice goes on, sadder and more +confidential than ever.</p> + +<p>"No! I won't insist on it, but nevertheless open +your eyes and look. Yes, that's right. Look at me +long and carefully. Well? Is my poor face ugly +enough, with its white hair, its wan gray skin +withered by fever, washed by the rain, torn by the +thorns? Is it terrible enough, with its bones that +stick out all over it, with all these wrinkles which +make it look like an old tragic mask from some +Chinese theatre?</p> + +<p>"Disgusting face, isn't it? Well! I have just +come out of hospital after four months in bed—four +months in bed—and before that, four months +more of suffering, weariness, and ghastly terror, +of daily fear and deadly companionship! That +changes a man, I tell you; and I forgive you for +not knowing me, since even I myself at times have +recoiled with fright before the unknown image +that the looking-glass shows me!"</p> + +<p>He lifts his head. A twitch, a sort of intermittent +cramp of his lip drags his mouth to one side +violently, changing and deforming the face, which +becomes livid, while in his staring eyes a sudden +terrible light shines for an instant and passes +away. He lifts his arms in a gesture of despair +and weariness; then in a low voice, as if it were +to himself, with a little dry laugh which comes and +goes in jerks:</p> + +<p>"Just a rag! This is what one year in this +country has made of me. Yes, this healthy and +vigorous body and this willing brain which I +brought here a few months ago are nothing now +but rags and tatters, used up and withered, in +which my soul and youth, though still alive, flutter +and are slowly dying. And soon I shall be nothing +but a vague memory which will gradually fade out +day by day in the hearts of those who love me. +Then soon,—so quickly—yes, so quickly—I shall +have gone altogether. Then, who in this vile life +will think of Pierre de Lursac?"</p> + +<p>"—<i>Pierre!</i>"</p> + +<p>I must have spoken too loud. Upon the sleeping-platform +two or three smokers, like white +spectres, begin to move and grumble at the intruder +who is disturbing the serenity of the place.... +What does that matter to me! With my arms +stretched out, I repeat, my voice trembling:—</p> + +<p>"—<i>Pierre! Pierre!</i>"</p> + +<p>He bends towards me and with his two hands +gripping my shoulders he holds me down.</p> + +<p>"Quiet ... yes ... it is I.... But quiet. I +am satisfied.... Don't move. There is nothing +important enough to allow of your disturbing your +opium trance, and nothing is worse than getting +excited when you have just finished smoking your +dose.... Don't trouble to talk."</p> + +<p>He falls silent, his expression grave and thoughtful. +On my part, while anxiously watching him, +I dream of my childhood days and my youth. <i>Lursac!</i>... +Is it really he whom I have before me? +Once more I see him in my mind coming ashore at +Saigon some few months after his graduation from +college, scarcely a year ago.... I recall his enthusiasm, +his ardor, his thirst for adventure, and +the air of strength and manliness, of youth and +good looks, which glowed in him. And now I look +at him feverishly again. He is right ... a rag +... a miserable rag....</p> + +<p>"But why? Why?... What can have happened?"</p> + +<p>With a sombre eye he stares at me in silence. +Slowly he changes his attitude of a Buddhist statue +and stretches himself on his side, his hollowed face +turned towards my lamp. Without words and +without a wasted movement, he takes up the pipe +that I have laid down. His long hands, fleshless +and transparent, busy themselves in the prescribed +motions, always the same. With eyes closed he +smokes.</p> + +<p>Pipe follows pipe. A great silence weighs upon +the human beings who stagnate in this hall filled +with the oppressive perfume of the Drug. A silence +only broken now and again for a moment by +the distant striking of a gong, which marks the +swallowing up of one hour after another in eternity +... and, from time to time, unreal and without +echo in this house of nothingness, a woman's +nervous laugh sends a spasm of discomfort through +the calm.</p> + +<p>Then, in my turn I take up the pipe again....</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Then, suddenly, Lursac is talking. I watch him +with vague curiosity. He is stretched out on his +back. The pupils of his wide-open eyes, dilated +and black, stare out, immobile and sightless, like +two dead beasts. He speaks. My brain, soaked +in the bitter smoke, picks its way among the aimless +swarming of thoughts which rise up, melt +away, and vanish without leaving any trace....</p> + +<p>One after the other, the smokers get up and go. +They have the staggering and hesitating gait of +drunkards. Their linen clothes make patches of +ghostly white against the red hangings of the hall.... +The dull slam of the door signals the departure +of each in turn....</p> + +<p>Lursac is still talking....</p> + +<p>Each one of his words falls into my brain and +is engraved there so indelibly that I am sure that +the next time I smoke opium and become entranced +as I am now, I shall be able to reproduce them all, +from the first to the last, without omitting a single +one.... Yes.... I am absolutely certain +of that.</p> + +<p>However, tonight I do not feel able to distinguish +whether all this is not a silly dream—the recollection +of some life I have lived before in some +other world....</p> + +<p>Yes, I'm drunk with opium, drunk ... drunk +... drunk, to such a point that I am unable to +recognize this long pale thing,—this hand that he +is playing with and caressing ... this thing +which looks like a hand ... a woman's.... +Idiot! What is it?... Pshaw!... Let's go +to sleep....</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Time flows on.... Seconds and minutes, parted +one by one from the present, plunge themselves inevitably +into the shadowy ocean of the always +growing past.... On the walls the red hangings +begin to get paler. They become pink, then mauve, +under the gentle fingers of the dawn which steals +bluely through the window panes and between the +shutters into the smoke-clouded opium hall. The +last words of Lursac penetrate to my ears in a +vague murmur.</p> + +<p>"There you are, I'm finished.... Now, you +know ... and nobody but you will know.... +Nobody!... But I am glad to have told all this +to you whom chance has placed at the last mile-stone +of my journey. It would have worried me +that you might have thought me mad, judging me +by the gossip of some commonplace incident, or +have supposed me crazed by the Drug and fever; +as there will be those who will not fail to cry it +aloud in their miserable papers!!! One lunatic +the less! ... a quick and easy epitaph, but one +which fits me well...."</p> + +<p>There is a long untroubled silence. Then a violent +explosion seems to tear my brain apart. What +is the fool playing at—?... Warm, heavy drops +are falling on my hand ... and as I half open my +eyes I spring up, staring and haggard. Pierre is +lying beside me ... bent double, like a useless, +broken toy. From his face, disfigured by a gaping +hole, blood rolls, covering my cheek, my forehead, +my clothes. And I sit there stupefied, without understanding. +Only after the first minutes of disturbance +and agitation, and while they are carrying +away his great bony body, do I see at the end +of the arm, hanging down and swaying as the carriers +stagger along with their terrible burden, the +shining steel of a revolver, round which his fingers +are still clenched.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Eight days ... that was eight days ago!...</p> + +<p>And every evening since—because my nerves +were torn to pieces and because the Shandoo, as I +had foreseen, allowed all the details of my friend's +story to rise from the bottom of my memory,—every +evening since then, I have written, bit by +bit, faithfully, the strange story that he told me +before killing himself. I have not written it for +myself, <i>who know</i>, but for others—for the people +here, for the people in France; in a word, for all +those unbelievers who in the darkness of their +blindness think they know everything, although +they are beset with ignorance, and believe that +they have dislodged the Unknown from the last +shadowy haunt in which it is hiding. Although +they have no suspicion, even, of the mystery which +is here, there, everywhere, close to them, and which +I am the only one to hold under my hands.... +The only one!...</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>... There, I have finished.... I have left out +nothing:—not a single particular, not a word. +Everything has been reproduced exactly. In any +case I could not forget anything, because of this +woman's hand,—this long pale hand so perfectly +embalmed that one would swear it was alive and +ready to move any minute. There it is: the signet +on its ring-finger bears the following charge: <i>Dexter, +argent, a lion sable—Sinister, azure, a chevron +or</i> ... and now, out through the window, +open to the sweet and placid night of Annam, I am +going to fling it, so that I may be no longer haunted +by it, may no longer have to see it there....</p> + +<p>There it goes, <i>splash</i>!</p> + +<p>It must have fallen in the canal. And there the +black mud will soon cover it for ever....</p> + +<p>... And I shall never smoke opium again, +never!... But that has nothing to do with +this....</p> + +<p>And here is the story that he told me<a id="FNanchor_1_1" href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>....</p> + + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2> +</div> + +<h3>SAIGON</h3> + + +<p>On the threshold of the office Pierre de Lursac +stopped.</p> + +<p>Behind him the beaded hanging rustled as it fell +into place. Carefully he folded up the paper of +instructions that had been handed to him a few +minutes earlier by the Director of Personnel, and +as he thought over the orders which he had just +received he crossed the veranda.</p> + +<p>Below the balustrade of the porch lay stretched +the tropical vegetation of the gardens of Government +House. Walks, shining and carefully tended, +wound about the clumps of rhododendrons and the +green lawns over which the flame-trees and tamarinds +flung round patches of shade.</p> + +<p>When he came to the foot of the main staircase +of gray stone which led to the park, Pierre ordered +the <i>linh</i> who was on guard a few steps away:</p> + +<p>"My rickshaw."</p> + +<p>The rifleman immediately barked a short order, +and a light vehicle appeared from one of the side +avenues. Following the lively and cadenced jog-trot +of its coolie, it described a semicircle and drew +up, shafts on the ground, in front of the young +man.</p> + +<p>Jumping nimbly into it, Pierre lay back on the +cushions cased in white coverings, and then, as +the runner, ready to start, looked up at him with a +questioning face expecting directions, Lursac +signed to the <i>linh</i> to come closer.</p> + +<p>"I don't speak Annamese well enough to make +myself understood. Tell him I want to go back +to the hotel."</p> + +<p>The rifleman gave an elaborate salute, and this +military gesture, usually sharp and formal, seemed +astonishing when performed by this little puny +soldier who looked like a mixture of a toy and a +warrior out of a comic operetta.</p> + +<p>He acknowledged the order:</p> + +<p>"<i>Gia bam qua lon.</i>"<a id="FNanchor_2_2" href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + +<p>And he immediately launched forth into verbose +explanations to the coolie, the nasal syllables echoing +strangely in the sonorous silences of the park. +The coolie nodded and started off with a supple +and rhythmic gait; while Pierre, lying spread out +against the back of the little car, watched the +naked back of the runner, down which great drops +of sweat were already beginning to roll. As soon +as they left the shady alleys of the park, and while +they were crossing the square which stretches in +front of the Government offices, a wave of heat +enveloped them. It was nearly four o'clock. From +the burning ground the hot air rose in waves, while +above the trees, flooded with dazzling light, the +lifeless and quivering atmosphere vibrated in the +heat. Although he wore a cork helmet and was +clothed in the lightest of white linen, Pierre experienced +a feeling of prostration at the touch of +this fiery breath. When the rickshaw at last entered +the shade of the avenue of lofty tamarinds, he +sighed with relief. A little coolness caused by the +rapidity of their progress caressed his face, relaxed +the feeling of depression in his temples, +spread along his body and refreshed him with a +sensation of well-being. He flung himself back, +stretched out his legs, and shut his eyes, giving +himself up to the swaying of the light vehicle +whose rubber-tired wheels rode softly on the dust +of the roadway.</p> + +<p>As the running coolie slowed down a little in +consequence of a block in the traffic, Lursac heard +a voice calling to him.</p> + +<p>"Hullo! Pierre!"</p> + +<p>Surprised, he turned his head and shot a quick +glance along the edge of the street. On the sidewalk, +smiling and waving to attract his attention, +a lieutenant of colonial infantry was standing and +calling to him:</p> + +<p>"Come here!"</p> + +<p>Lursac recognized him immediately.</p> + +<p>"Jacques!"</p> + +<p>Touching the shoulder of the coolie with his +walking stick, he cried:</p> + +<p>"Toi.... Toi...."</p> + +<p>It was the one word which he had so far succeeded +in remembering of the Annamese language +since his arrival in Saigon.</p> + +<p>Prodded from behind, the runner had immediately +stopped, and Pierre, jumping out of the rickshaw, +hurried toward the officer who came to meet +him. They greeted each other with the light of +pleasure in their eyes: then Jacques Bressond, +drawing back a couple of steps, looked his friend +up and down. Lursac, upright in the middle of +the sidewalk, drew himself up to his full height +so that his white tunic clung tightly to his figure +and threw into relief his splendid chest, the free +swing of his shoulders and the harmonious strength +which showed itself in his erect carriage and the +spring of his legs. In fact, a fine figure of a man, +whose strong, talented face was set off by two +brilliant dark eyes deeply set. Jacques took him +by the arm.</p> + +<p>"I found your message when I got back from +my trip this morning; I immediately ran off to +your hotel, where I shouted till the whole place +rang!... The service boy, after bowing and +scraping, gibbered at me: 'M. Lursac been gone, +two o'clock.' It was enough for me to understand +what he meant.... What luck to meet you like +this!... What are you doing?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing," said Pierre, "I am just going back to +the hotel."</p> + +<p>"All right, then I will take charge of you. We +will go and take an aperitif together and then +we will make the 'Tour of Inspection' in a carriage."</p> + +<p>"Tour of Inspection?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, the swagger thing to do, the Avenue des +Acacias of Saigon high-life, the fashionable six-to-eight-o'clock +affair.... It is curious and instructive, +as you will see! You'll come, won't +you?"</p> + +<p>Lursac agreed.</p> + +<p>"With pleasure. I have been here for three days +now, and already I am beginning to feel my loneliness +weighing on me. They told me that you +were going to be absent for another fortnight."</p> + +<p>He threw some change to the rickshaw coolie, +who made himself scarce.</p> + +<p>"Yes, but I had to turn in here to get new +instructions before continuing my journey of official +inspection."</p> + +<p>They had resumed their walk side by side down +the Rue Catinat. Under the sun which beat down +from a sky of hard, cloudless blue that glowed +like a metal dome, the life of the town stagnated, +prostrated by the heat.</p> + +<p>In the shops, which the lowered shades protected +with a zone of shadow, the customers seated +at their ease bargained casually over the precious +knick-knacks in lacquer, ivory, and mother-of-pearl +which every now and then gave off a vivid sparkle +of light. On their haunches at their benches behind +the glass of the shop front the native jewelers, +clad only in the soft <i>cai-ao</i> of fine linen, hammered +out complicated and original designs on the +gold or silver of an umbrella handle which would +eventually be the prized possession of some coarse +western barbarian!</p> + +<p>The interior of the shops, guessed at rather than +seen through the opening of the drawn curtains, +seemed like oases of shade and coolness, and attracted +with some subtle charm.</p> + +<p>As they went along Jacques explained:</p> + +<p>"Since I found on my table this morning all +your letters from France announcing your arrival +here I have been thinking of nothing but Paris. +I have been living in the midst of the recollections +which you have brought to life again.... Do +you remember when we used to start off for the +Valley de Chevreuse on Saturdays?"</p> + +<p>They crossed the square, at the bottom of which +the municipal theatre reared its ornate façade in +imitation of a Greek temple, opposite the wide +semicircle from which the Boulevard Charner +could be seen blazing with light and baking in the +sun.</p> + +<p>When they had arrived on the pavement opposite, +Jacques Bressond, pointing out the café which +occupied the angle between the Square and the +Rue Catinat, said:</p> + +<p>"Let us stop here. We will take a seat on the +terrace. For you who are new to Saigon the sight +will be worth while. This is exactly the right moment, +the exquisite moment, for now, at the slight +pretence of coolness that the evening breeze brings +with it, the fashionable people of the town gather +to suck iced drinks through straws—milky absinthe +shot with iridescent colors, emerald crème de +menthe and the entire gamut of cocktails, dark and +light and rainbow-hued."</p> + +<p>Pierre smiled, and seating himself he asked:</p> + +<p>"Do you like the country?"</p> + +<p>"Well, like every other place, it has its good side +and its bad side. However, it seems to me that +the pleasures are more numerous than the troubles. +And then, why shouldn't I like Saigon? Of the +last six months I have spent four or five exploring +the bush, in climbing sandy hills, wandering +through the impenetrable confusion of the forests +of Annam and upper Tonkin, and in floundering +about in the green mud of the canals and the creeks +of Laos...."</p> + +<p>"Do you know Laos, then?"</p> + +<p>"Pretty well. I have made two trips there on +geodetic surveys."</p> + +<p>"Splendid. You can give me some information +then. Here, see where the chief is sending me."</p> + +<p>He pulled out of his pocket the paper of instructions +that he had been given earlier in the day and +extended it to Bressond.</p> + +<p>The boy, clothed in a long tunic of white linen +and with his head wound in a turban of linen set +down before them on the bamboo table a tray +heaped with bottles of many colors. While he +measured and mixed with the precision of habit +the liquids and ingredients of an oyster cocktail +in the glasses filled with cracked ice, Jacques Bressond +ran over the paper which Lursac had handed +him.</p> + +<p>The boy, having completed the mixture, placed +the glasses before the young men and disappeared.</p> + +<p>Bressond passed back the paper of instructions +to Lursac.</p> + +<p>"Post 32? Don't know it. Haven't they given +you any other details?"</p> + +<p>"No.... Oh, yes, wait a minute, ... yes. +The Chief of Personnel told me that the post was +at the foot of the Pou-Kas."</p> + +<p>Jacques Bressond raised his head.</p> + +<p>"Ah, wait.... Pou-Kas? Isn't the post on +the bank of the canal?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I have to go there part of the way in an +ox-cart and part in a boat.... Do you know +it?"</p> + +<p>The officer sucked a few drops of his cocktail +from the end of his straw and reflected.</p> + +<p>Beside him with stretched out legs Pierre +watched with curiosity the Rue Catinat, along +which people were beginning to appear. Five +o'clock struck in the distance with clear metallic +strokes. The terrace of the café at once began to +fill with patrons in white waistcoats and light +dresses. Like a swollen river, the fashionable +artery of Saigonese life brimmed with a noisy +wave of carriages, of street hawkers and promenaders. +From café to café the newsboys ran, +slipping from one table to another, yelping the +name of a local newspaper; while, opposite, two +Chinese with crumpled features got out of a malabar +and disappeared into a tailor shop.</p> + +<p>The café orchestra suddenly dashed into a waltz. +Sharp bursts of music dominated the confused +noise which mounted from the pavement, and a +languorous tune just imported from Europe was +borne aloft on two squeaky violins accompanied by +a husky-voiced piano and a shaky mandoline.</p> + +<p>Vaguely soothed, Pierre abandoned himself to +the pleasure of being there, peacefully situated +under the punkahs, with an iced drink in front of +him, in the midst of this tumult and heat which +surrounded him.</p> + +<p>Bressond's voice stirred his placidity:</p> + +<p>"The Pou-Kas.... I seem to remember that.... +I must have passed it on my last trip but +one. I have trekked about the country more than +a little. That was certainly one of my roughest +trips. Yes ... wait, now I remember.... It +is the region which stretches at the foot of the +great Annamite mountain-chain, in the middle of +the forest, almost on the Burmese frontier ... a +ghastly country, my poor old chap! You will never +find anything to amuse yourself with there."</p> + +<p>Pierre smiled absent-mindedly. His eyes ran +along the side of the wall and followed the jerky +progress of a <i>congai</i> whose black silk tunic and +large white <i>cai-quan</i> appeared and disappeared +amongst the throng.</p> + +<p>"Bah!" said he, "I didn't come here for amusement. +In any case they didn't pretend at the office +that the post possessed anything to recommend it."</p> + +<p>Bressond sipped his cocktail and shrugged his +shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Nothing to recommend it? I should say not! +To begin with, you will arrive there in the middle +of the rainy season. Secondly, you will have to +live in the middle of this clump of mountains +hardly explored as yet, alone with a dozen native +soldiers of the military station, and ... it's a +very advanced point, isn't it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Post 32. Moï territory, it appears."</p> + +<p>Bressond started.</p> + +<p>"In Moï territory.... Number 32.... By +Buddha!... Now I know. It's even worse than +I thought. Well, well! You are certainly going +strong for a beginner.... But ... what on +earth do they want to send a military administrator +out there for?"</p> + +<p>Pierre, nettled by the tone in which he made this +exclamation, looked at him fixedly.</p> + +<p>"They are sending me to join a lieutenant who +has just been nominated to the post. It is a special +appointment. My business will be to inaugurate +the civil organization. But what is there unusual +about this Post 32?"</p> + +<p>Bressond shook his head.</p> + +<p>"What is there unusual? I do not know exactly +... and nobody here knows anything more than +I do. At any rate it is the worst hole in the whole +of Upper Laos! But, of course you know how +they speak of it ... 'recently established' ... +all humbug, my boy!"</p> + +<p>And as Pierre shot a look of interrogation at him +he continued:</p> + +<p>"Yes, all humbug! As a matter of fact, the post +was instituted for the first time at least six or +seven years ago. It was Longères who had it. At +the end of six months, no Longères, no Post 32. +A flood had swept away the settlement and its inhabitants. +At least that is the version that the +surviving members of the garrison gave of the accident.... +One had to be satisfied with that.... +However, for three years no one mentioned +Post 32. Then one fine day some official or other +digging through his papers discovered that for the +security of our dominion in Indo-China it was indispensable +that the post should be re-established."</p> + +<p>A driver, curled up on the seat of his victoria, +passed on his way up the street. Bressond broke +off to make him a sign. At the same time he threw +a coin on the table and as the boy ran up he +pushed Pierre de Lursac before him into the carriage, +giving a brief order to the coachman.</p> + +<p>"The tour of inspection through the Botanical +Gardens. You understand?"</p> + +<p>"I understand, O Mandarin of two stripes."</p> + +<p>At a lively trot the two native ponies, tossing +their ruffled manes as they went, drew the carriage +down the Rue Catinat, turned to the left +and followed the line of the quays, along which in +a brown and black medley the sampans showed +their masts and the lines of their decks.</p> + +<p>Something resembling coolness floated down the +bed of the river; the light began to soften, melting +its violent golds into shades of mauve. The dying +day threw over the white town some of its purple +splendor. And under the hoofs of the horses a +slight dust rose like a delicate honey-colored +cloud.</p> + +<p>Pierre had put his hand on his friend's arm.</p> + +<p>"And then?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Bressond turned to look at him.</p> + +<p>"Then what?... Ah! yes.... Post 32! +Well! they re-established it, as I told you. And +this time it was Dorcel who took charge. For a +year everything went all right. And then suddenly +the news burst like a bomb in the newspapers: +all over with Post 32 again! But, as it +had been rebuilt on a spur of the mountain, this +time it wasn't a flood, but a fire, that had destroyed +it. As for Dorcel, he just managed to arrive at +the hospital and died without being able to throw +the slightest light on this second accident to the +celebrated Post 32...."</p> + +<p>The victoria, now having caught up with the +procession of carriages which was defiling along +the promenade, slackened speed and took its turn.... +In the opposite direction another line of vehicles +was passing at a foot pace—buggies with +thin wheels, high-seated tilburys, gigs drawn by +horses driven tandem, shining victorias whose +cushions were rich with bright dresses and brilliant +umbrellas.</p> + +<p>Bressond's hand was ever at his military cap in +the salute, while here and there he shot a smile +or a nod to acquaintances or ladies whom he +knew.</p> + +<p>Leaning against the backboard of the carriage, +Pierre de Lursac amused himself by contemplating +this long row of colonial fashion. Before his unaccustomed +eyes, Saigon society lay spread, offering +its celebrities and its peculiarities for his inspection.</p> + +<p>Bressond meanwhile, a guide as willing as thoroughly +informed, explained and made comments. +In a few quick picturesque words, he drew a portrait, +sketched a caricature, made an imputation +and gave the whole story of the person at the bar.</p> + +<p>When they had arrived at the end of the promenade, +they turned and went back by the way they +had come, still followed and preceded by the other +carriages. The daylight faded softly. From each +side of the long dusty reddish road the flooded +rice-fields stretched away like swampy checker-boards, +on which the docile black buffaloes driven +by ragged youngsters slowly plodded along with +their enormous curved horns silhouetted against +the pale sky in the shape of widely rounded lyres. +With shrill cries a flock of herons floated down +over a clump of palms, in the shade of which was +a huddle of huts.</p> + +<p>The countryside, which was gradually dropping +to rest in the peace of the dying day, was archaic, +oriental and primitive beyond belief.</p> + +<p>Pierre remarked upon it, and Bressond, with a +shrug, assented:</p> + +<p>"It is a beautiful country—beautiful but strange, +and not the least like the conventional Far East +that is so popular in France!"</p> + +<p>He thought a minute and went on:</p> + +<p>"After all, that is not so astonishing, for very +few people, even here, know Indo-China ... very +few...."</p> + +<p>"But...."</p> + +<p>"No, believe me, it is a country that no one +among us really knows, nor will know for a long +time yet. It isn't enough, in order to understand +it, to have traveled through it, not even to have +spent two years, three years or more in it.... +No; neither you nor I, who come here with our +European souls and with the mentality of conquerors, +neither you nor I, nor the others of our +kind, will ever be able to understand this race!... +For instance, look at the stupidity, the ignorance, +of this official who for the third time has +re-established a military post in an unknown region +in the middle of a country not yet conquered, +and which no one has been able to explore and +not even to penetrate ... no one! and on the top +of that they send out an administrator!... To +administrate what? ... and above all to administrate +whom? Well, anyway, you will have the +chance of meeting Redeski there.... And that's +that."</p> + +<p>Pierre turned to him.</p> + +<p>"Redeski?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, he is the man who commands the fort +there.... Jacques-Boleslas-Michael Redeski, of +an old Polish family; a real count, but as poor as +Job of biblical memory. A naturalized Frenchman, +educated in Paris, graduated from St. Cyr: +Morocco, the Soudan, Indo-China, everywhere, in +fact, where war and adventure can still be had. +A balanced mind but an emotional nature, at once +sympathetic and sceptical. To sum up, most +amusing and original, and the best of friends. For +nearly two years we patrolled the forests together +on the frontier of China.</p> + +<p>"There now, you know him. And anyway you +couldn't have started out with a better comrade, +especially in a hole like that...."</p> + +<p>He interrupted himself to look at his watch.</p> + +<p>"Oh, damn! Half past seven!... We have +just time to get back."</p> + +<p>They had reached the alleys of the Botanical +Garden. Getting up, he touched the back of the +driver.</p> + +<p>"<i>Mao ... Mao!</i><a id="FNanchor_3_3" href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>... Stop at the Continental." +Turning back to Lursac, he explained:</p> + +<p>"You will excuse me: I am on duty tonight. +I have to dine at the club with the chief engineer +of Hong-Hai. An official dinner...."</p> + +<p>The victoria, extricating itself from the long +row of carriages, turned off into an avenue and +the ponies were put to a trot.</p> + +<p>Night had fallen. The alleys, over which the +branches of the trees met, looked like long tunnels. +Under the arches a warm scent wandered. To the +perfume of opening hibiscus and the purple flame-trees +was added the heavy scent of the sap-filled +flowers and the thick rich soil of Indo-China.</p> + +<p>Through the evening peace which had so suddenly +fallen about them the shrill voices of the +crickets mingled their chirping with the echoes +of the ponies' hoofs. Then, suddenly breaking +from the shadow and silence, the carriage swung +into the full tide of Saigon's restless noise.</p> + +<p>Above the streets the electric globes poured +down their violent illumination. A tossing crowd +surged through the avenues and jammed the windows +of the brilliantly lighted shops. Autos, with +blasts of their horns, forced themselves a passage +through the crowds of rickshaws and malabars +descending the Boulevard Charner. In the cafés +the orchestras played feverishly. The carriage, +following the Boulevard, turned to the right and +after having traversed part of the Rue Catinat +stopped opposite the Continental. Pierre jumped +out on the sidewalk. Leaning from the carriage, +Bressond took leave of him.</p> + +<p>"Good bye, Pierre, and good luck, old man! I +would like to have done more for you, but tomorrow +I start out on a mission to Upper Tonkin and +it is very unlikely that I shall be able to see you +again here."</p> + +<p>Lursac gave him a strong friendly hand clasp.</p> + +<p>"Good bye, Jacques! and good luck to you also. +I will write you from Post 32."</p> + +<p>"So do, and remember me to Redeski. Now, +quick to the club!"</p> + +<p>Drawing the whip sharply over the team, the +driver started off.</p> + +<p>When the victoria had disappeared, lost in the +crowd of other vehicles, Pierre crossed the street +towards his hotel, but, just as he got to the sidewalk +he started violently: a guttural voice close +to him had flung out the words:</p> + +<p>"<i>The Pou-Kas is not for white people.</i>"</p> + +<p>He turned round suddenly and with a quick +glance searched the surroundings. In front of him +the passers-by were hurrying on their way. Three +<i>congais</i> walked arm in arm, chattering and laughing. +Two rickshaws, side by side, were having a +race and were already far past him. A soup-peddler, +his two jars suspended at the ends of a bar +balanced on his shoulders, advertised his wares +with a clapper and cried their merits aloud, while, +interfering with his trade, a street-boy with a basket +of earth-nuts on his arm, called out in a sing-song +voice for customers....</p> + +<p>Was it he? ... or perhaps this Chinaman, +wrapped in a tunic of lavender silk, who uttered +the strange warning?... Or was it not rather +this blind beggar who passed, slow and doubtful, +tapping the road with his staff?</p> + +<p>How was he to know?</p> + +<p>Already the cry of the nut-vendor was losing itself +in the general hubbub; the variegated crowd +continued to roll by, carrying away with it the +three <i>congais</i>, the Chinaman, the beggar and the +soup-vendor, whose little stove left a red glow in +the darkness. More coolies, more natives came and +passed, all nameless, all alike, with their faces +equally yellow and their expressions equally grinning +and ape-like.</p> + +<p>In doubt, Pierre stood motionless on the edge +of the pavement. Before him, Saigon, the cosmopolitan +meeting place of all races of Europe +and Asia, where the Annamese, the Chinese, the +Hindoo, the Malay, the French, the English, the +Japanese, the Russian elbowed each other and +mixed with the confusion—Saigon the Magnificent, +the whirlpool of all religions and all civilizations, +the most modern side-by-side with the most ancient—and +lastly, Saigon the French city, in the +midst of tzigane orchestras imported from Europe, +awoke and stretched herself languorously under the +warm voluptuous caresses of the Annamese night.</p> + +<p>Regardless of this whirlpool of life which flung +itself violently at him, Pierre, overcome by a +strange presentiment of ill fortune and a wave of +loneliness, crossed the threshold of his hotel.</p> + +<p>Inside the door, two "boys," clad in the conventional +white tunic, received him with the customary +three salaams, ... three deep salaams, of +which the outward respectfulness could not hide +altogether the servile insolence.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2> +</div> + +<h3>UP THE RIVER</h3> + + +<p>The captain pulled the cord of the ship's +whistle. The shrill sudden call tore its way +through the air, floated along the yellow surface +of the water, lingered along the banks of the river +and finally lost itself in the depths of the forest.</p> + +<p>The <i>Vien-Thian</i> turned through a quarter of a +circle, nosing out her way slowly between the +banks of mud which showed almost level with the +current, like brown backs of great sleeping saurians. +There was a second call from the whistle, +longer this time and more lingering, which died +away softly in the moist, still air.</p> + +<p>Suddenly awakened, Lursac drew himself up and +looked about him. Through the round porthole, +beneath which the water slid and gurgled, the yellow +light trickled, showing the gray walls of the +cabin. The narrow little den stowed away in the +'tween decks of the boat vibrated heavily with +every throb from the engine-room next door. +Jumping out of his bunk, Pierre hastily flung on +his clothes and went out. In two strides he reached +the ladder screwed to the wall of the passage and +climbed it. The spectacle which the waist of the +ship offered him made him stop for a moment. +On the wooden deck, littered with all kinds of +parcels, the natives still lay sleeping,—a picturesque +mixture of Annamese, Chinese, Cambodians +and Lao-ese. Amidst the scattered medley +of chests, mats and baskets of all shapes and sizes, +their bodies entwined and pressed close against +each other gave the effect of a many-colored carpet. +From the all too narrow deck they had spread +into the gunwales and were even stretched upon +the bulwarks in a dangerous sleep, balanced above +the slimy waters of the river.</p> + +<p>Hesitatingly the day broke, dimly showing the +left bank of the Me-Kong, which stretched away +into the distance straight and low. Thin and persistent, +the rain fell like gray ashes, streaking the +countryside, while over the earth, still drowned +in fog, the light seemed powerless to spread.</p> + +<p>Pierre had now got as far as the bridge. Upright +before the binnacle, his eyes fixed on the +course of the ship, the captain snapped his orders +through the engine-room speaking tube. He was +an old man, tall and thin, but erect, and clothed in +khaki-colored linen. His lined face, baked by the +sun and tanned by the weather, had a reddish +tinge which gave him the peculiar appearance of +having been kneaded from a block of the Cambodian +earth which showed brick-colored along +the sides of the river. A sailor of the old school, he +sported whiskers, whose whiteness framed and emphasised +the softness of his deep blue eyes.</p> + +<p>Approaching him, Pierre gave him a friendly +greeting and asked:</p> + +<p>"Are we getting there?"</p> + +<p>Without letting his glance stray from the current +against which the screws were pushing the +vessel, the old man replied briefly:</p> + +<p>"Not yet; we are just entering the 'drowned +forest.' Look!"</p> + +<p>As a matter of fact, the boat, turning about, was +pointed directly towards the bank.</p> + +<p>Leaning on the bulwarks, Pierre watched the +land as it loomed nearer and larger. The bank, +slowly becoming plainer, stretched to the horizon, +cutting the yellow waters with its narrow flat +marshy outline. Gradually the eye could discern +the details of the scene: hanging over the muddy +earth and bathing their innumerable roots in the +current the mangroves, with their twisted branches, +and the palms with their slender stems, stood in +ranks upon the fen which stretched far to the +west, leprous with moss and spotted with clumps +of cane and brush. Far away, their tops girdled +with fog, the rounded masses of the hills sloped +gradually upward. Little by little everything came +nearer and grew larger. In the middle of the current +floating masses of leafage torn from the palms +by the rising waters turned slowly round and +round as they drifted by. In spots the trees which +the flood had overtaken stretched their dark tops +above the flat water; for the river, breaking loose, +had conquered the giant wood and submerged it. +Against the bow of the boat from time to time +branches crashed and were pushed aside with a +dull scraping sound.</p> + +<p>And then, suddenly, clear and mysterious like +an avenue in some nightmare park, the channel +appeared. Slowly the <i>Vien-Thian</i> forced itself into +the deep and mysterious heart of the great Cambodian +forest, through which in the dry season the +native hunters were wont to go with their ears +pricked and their eyes on the watch questing for +their daily prey. Hidden under the great masses +of tamarinds, teak trees and sandalwoods, of which +only the tops were still visible above the water, the +banks of the river had suddenly vanished. Against +the enormous trunks the current frothed and grumbled. +Above the submerged forest-land the fog +was gradually lifting: it wound itself between the +rounded summits of the trees and floated gradually +towards the sky. Half seen now through the mist, +islets showed, fringed by branches mixed with +giant grasses which draggled in the muddy waters.</p> + +<p>On the deck the crowd of native passengers began +to move confusedly. A deep silence still +brooded over them: crushed one against another, +the men smoked without speaking, while crouched +on their mats, the women, silent and shivering, +watched the gloomy scene slide by the bow of the +vessel.</p> + +<p>Leaning on the rail, Pierre de Lursac felt all +the magic of this strange voyage in the heart of +the "drowned forest," on an invisible river peopled +by ghosts of trees and shadows of islands. Denser +and denser the fog again closed round the boat: +and the mob of natives could only be seen as a +vague dark mass.</p> + +<p>On the bridge, hidden in fog, even the captain +was no longer visible. All that remained of him +was the sound of his sharp orders shot from time +to time into the mouthpiece of the engine-room +speaking tube, with which amidst the brooding +silence he ruled the rhythmic throb of the engine.</p> + +<p>Suddenly a clear and vigorous feminine voice +sounded:</p> + +<p>"What a mad-looking country!"</p> + +<p>In his isolation and amid the monotonous sadness +of this voyage, which had now lasted for a +week, the sound of this voice seemed to Pierre the +most unexpected and the most extraordinary of +adventures.</p> + +<p>He turned round swiftly and tried to penetrate +with his eyes the cold wall of fog which hung over +everything; but he could see nothing. Then, however, +a conversation began between the mysterious +unknown and the captain.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Père Rabaud. Aren't you surprised, +after my hiding myself for eight days, to +meet me on the bridge? Yes, I decided to clamber +up here, you see.... I should have been sorry to +miss all this. What a peculiar sight!"</p> + +<p>"Good morning, Mademoiselle. I don't wonder +you think so! But this part of the world has got +a lot of strange things to show! As you said just +now, it's a queer country! You'll see lots of other +strange things, no fear of that."</p> + +<p>The woman's voice with its peculiar metallic +timbre sounded again.</p> + +<p>"So much the better."</p> + +<p>The captain groaned.</p> + +<p>"Phew! You say that ... but if you lived as +I have for twenty years in this cursed country ... +it isn't quite the same thing as Paris, I can tell +you!..."</p> + +<p>A long ripple of laughter broke the silence.</p> + +<p>"Yes ... but as for me, I have lived in Europe; +and there existence is so monotonous and so exactly +the same day after day that I am tired of +it."</p> + +<p>Then there was a short silence and the captain +said in a lowered voice:</p> + +<p>"Then you are still determined to go on with +your plan?"</p> + +<p>"More than ever, as I feel that he needs me.... +Oh! he does not complain, but in between the +lines of the letters that he has written me I have +felt that his loneliness has weighed on him terribly.... +Yes, I know, ... you are going to +tell me that my place is not here and that I shall +be a nuisance to him. But he is alone, you understand, +and for him as for me, there can be nothing +worse than this isolation which we have never +been able to get used to and against which we have +never ceased to struggle with all our love for each +other."</p> + +<p>The tone of her voice had become grave with +an undertone of deep earnestness. Then suddenly +it changed and rose again.</p> + +<p>"Are we far from Khône-Sud?"</p> + +<p>"No, ... even now we are getting out of the +great 'drowned forest,' and see, ... the fog is +lifting."</p> + +<p>Pierre had to imagine a gesture which he could +not see but which a short silence emphasised; then +the captain went on in a low voice and in a bantering, +confidential tone:</p> + +<p>"I have a fellow-traveler for you...."</p> + +<p>Vibrant and authoritative her response leapt +out:</p> + +<p>"I don't want one.... I prefer to be independent...."</p> + +<p>The captain gave a jovial laugh.</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes ... of course ... but I have my +responsibility to consider; I have promised to do +what I can for you to help you to get there, +and...."</p> + +<p>He called out sharply:</p> + +<p>"Monsieur de Lursac!"</p> + +<p>Pierre jumped. He took two steps forward +quickly and then stopped dead. A sentence which +the unknown had spoken had arrested him in mid +career.</p> + +<p>"No!" she cried, with irritation, "No ... I shall +not thank you for that!"</p> + +<p>"But heavens and earth!" swore the captain, +"how can I leave a woman to play the adventurer +here all alone, without escort in a country in which +the men themselves daren't go about without all +kinds of precautions! That would be foolishness!..."</p> + +<p>"Foolishness or not, I have made up my mind. +Do not let us speak of it again."</p> + +<p>Pierre had turned away. The fog was now thinning; +the sun, yellow and rayless, appeared between +two clouds. The river had broadened into +a great loop and the last scattered trees of the +"drowned forest" could be seen dotted about the +immense waste of waters. Picking its way between +islands of mud, the <i>Vien-Thian</i>, coming out into +the open, pointed straight towards the bank of +the Me-Kong, which appeared in the distance as a +vague brown line marked in the middle with a +white splash, the memorial erected to Commandant +Diacre, who had been drowned there some years +before. With hoarse cries a flock of herons rose +and wheeled; while, in the rigid attitude of sleepers, +three cormorants, perched on a tree trunk, +each with one claw drawn up under his gray breast, +snapped their beaks with loud clacking noises and +watched the boat suspiciously as it passed them.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Forcing himself to seem unaware of the conversation +he had overheard, Pierre pretended to be +absorbed once more in the contemplation of the +bank which was rapidly growing plainer. Behind +him, however, he was conscious of the Unknown +whose unexpected presence on board excited his +curiosity. With this feeling was mingled one of +hurt pride. Who was she? Who was this man of +whom she had spoken in terms which were certainly +open to misconstruction? And what was he +to her? Pierre would have given anything to +know. But the roughness of the young woman's +response when Captain Rabaud had offered her a +traveling-companion had hurt his feelings.</p> + +<p>He lit a cigarette and pulled his sketch-book out +of his pocket.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Now over the bow of the boat appeared the +river bank, every detail clear and distinct. A long +rank of palm trees stood on the edge of the stream, +revealing under their thin straight shadows a shed +with a thatched roof. A kind of primitive landing +stage made of planks roughly thrown together on +some cross beams projected into the water of the +river. Beyond, over the tops of the palms, +stretched toward the horizon a brown land dotted +with scanty bushes, while in the distance the rapids +of Hou-Sadan frothed and snarled.</p> + +<p>Pointing out the yellow thatched roof with his +finger, the captain announced:</p> + +<p>"Khône-Sud!"</p> + +<p>A confused noise rose from the waist of the ship +filled with native passengers. They had all risen +to their feet, and pressed tight against the bulwarks +they disputed among themselves, exchanged +remarks and busied themselves over their meagre +baggage. Tanned, brown and powerful, the Cambodians +folded up their square flat mattresses and +hoisted their bundles to their shoulders to be ready +for landing. Small and noisy, the Annamese +pushed here and there, cursing aloud, shoving +their women, boxing the ears of the children who +screamed with ear-splitting yells. In a corner, +collected together in a separate group, the Chinese +methodically and without hurry counted over their +bags of merchandise, lined up their boxes and got +their papers ready. Nonchalant and frail, the +Lao-ese, with their pale faces, smiled and hummed +the chants of their native country, remaining +stretched out on the gunwales.</p> + +<p>Thinning into long slanting wisps, the fog +cleared away. Almost as suddenly as it had fallen, +it was gone, and the sun shone in the sky, warm, +sparkling and golden.</p> + +<p>The <i>Vien-Thian</i> came about, slackened her +speed and cautiously laid herself alongside the +landing stage, which gave to her weight with +creakings and groanings. Across the gangway, +which was immediately lowered, the natives +rushed, fighting among themselves for room to +pass.</p> + +<p>Pierre made hurriedly for his cabin. Forcing a +way through the crowd on the lower deck, he +reached his little stateroom and strapped up his +valise. Then two Cambodians took charge of his +baggage, and having carried it up to the deck +piled it up at the head of the gangway. Beside his +own things, heavy and massive, each one of which +carried in large black letters his name and destination, +Pierre observed some copper-covered trunks +and leather suitcases carefully shrouded in blue +cloth coverings. He guessed that they must belong +to her whom he, with some irritation, had +named "The Unknown." Mechanically, he drew +near to the baggage. Bending over the aristocratic-looking +things, he attempted uselessly to +discover the name of their proprietor. On the +trunks and the leather of the bags the same initials +were repeated in slender strokes: a W and an R, +intertwined, in a lozenge-shaped monogram.</p> + +<p>He expressed his disappointment by an impatient +gesture. Once again his curiosity remained +ungratified. He put out his hand and stopped the +porters who were beginning to take his trunks +down, and told them to wait for him.</p> + +<p>The crowd of yellow passengers was now thinning +out: beyond the wall and the primitive shed +which, with three or four straw-thatched huts, +constituted the entire town of Khône-Sud, they +could be seen trailing off in groups, becoming +smaller and disappearing. Only a few Lao-ese +still waited in the shade of the palms, where their +variegated attire broke the shade with little moving +spots of color. Before the landing stage some +ox-carts were standing, while on the bank, up to +their knees in the river, six elephants, undisturbed, +were squirting jets of water over their backs. +Upon their brown wrinkled flanks the water +splashed and ran down, while the mahouts, +crouched on the enormous necks of the brutes, +mingled their guttural cries with the noise of the +pouring water.</p> + +<p>Pierre guessed that this extraordinary outfit, +elephants and ox-carts, was the caravan that had +been got together for his journey to Post 32. +He smiled with amusement. At the same time a +feeling of depression shot through him. The monotony +of this voyage up the unending river, +through scenery everlastingly the same, with only +the continued tramping backward and forward on +the narrow deck for amusement or the reading of +a few volumes picked out of Captain Rabaud's library, +had left him with a feeling of lassitude and +nervousness. He wanted to get on shore to continue +his journey, to get to the end of this pilgrimage +where the mysterious Post 32 and the +strange land of which Bressond had spoken were +awaiting him.</p> + +<p>With a few bounds he reached the top of the +ladder leading to the bridge. Still standing in +the corner which he used as a look-out, Captain +Rabaud was saying good bye to the unknown woman. +Just as she parted from him, after a final +<i>au revoir</i>, Pierre came forward. Their paths +crossed. The young man raised his hat. She +acknowledged the salute with a slight nod and +passed him quickly.</p> + +<p>Struck by the unusual and peculiar beauty of +the face and eyes, half-seen under the shadow of +her large white felt hat, Pierre stopped. Behind +him the light decided footsteps of the young woman +were growing fainter. Already she must be descending +the ladder to the lower deck. Almost +carried away by his sudden desire to look at her +again and fix her features in his memory, Pierre +had hard work not to run back and follow her. But +there came to him the remembrance of that haughty +and reserved look which she had just flashed upon +him as she passed, and he stood motionless, not +even daring to turn his head.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2> +</div> + +<h3>A FELLOW TRAVELER</h3> + + +<p>Somewhere in the night, a gong sounded the +hour of the second watch.</p> + +<p>In the silence the ringing notes swelled out and +vibrated. From other spots nearby, fading away +into the distance, the sound of three other gongs +rose into the still air, taking up the signal and +prolonging it.</p> + +<p>The night was vast, motionless and cold. Leaning +on the rail in front of the hut which served +him as a hotel, Pierre watched a wan moon rise +slowly above the river. In front of his hut, built +on piles in the Moï fashion, the footpath which +represented the main street of Khône-Sud +stretched away to the north, cutting through the +neighboring forest whose solid mass stretched like +a vast gulf of blackness under the moonlit sky dappled +with moving clouds.</p> + +<p>Towards the south, the handful of five or six +huts which composed the village lay silent and +dark. On board the <i>Vien-Thian</i>, made fast to the +landing stage opposite, a single light kept watch.</p> + +<p>Pierre, unable to sleep, thought of his departure. +He called to mind the visit that he had made late +in the afternoon to the civil service clerk who +occupied the position of Chief of the Post at +Khône. His caravan prepared in advance for him +was waiting: it was that which he had seen from +the deck of the boat on his arrival some hours +before: four ox-carts with their bamboo-thatched +tops and enormous wooden wheels, and six elephants +whose pack saddles were ready to receive +their loads: as escort a dozen Lao-ese riflemen and +a guide.</p> + +<p>His baggage had been parcelled out as soon as +it came off the boat. The large packages—two +great chests of clothes and three cases of books and +instruments solidly packed—were destined for the +elephants. One of the ox-carts was to serve him +by turns as carriage by day and sleeping apartment +at night, and on its rough planking protected +by the rounded top they had stretched a Cambodian +mattress. The smaller parcels—suitcases, +arms, munitions and provisions for the journey—had +been distributed between two more of the +ox-carts. The fourth remained empty, and Pierre +had remarked concerning it to the clerk who accompanied +him:</p> + +<p>"No good taking this one, too. I'll leave you +that ... it might...."</p> + +<p>But the other, laughing, had interrupted him.</p> + +<p>"No nonsense, old man!... They ordered me +to provide you with four vehicles. The requisitions +have been made and the accounts passed; your +escort have been paid in advance. If you leave +one of your carts on my hands I shall have official +letters and all sorts of troubles for the next three +months. They told me 'four carts.' You will then +start with four carts! As for the empty one, do +what you like with it: make a smoking room of it, +a dining-room, library—but for the love of the +government, take it away from here."</p> + +<p>Remembrance of the incident made Lursac +smile.</p> + +<p>Now, the moon was fully risen. It could be +seen, reddish and dull, floating between two strips +of cloud.</p> + +<p>Across the sky a flight of birds passed in a triangular +line, and the breeze, blowing from nowhere, +scattered the cloudlets banked in the northern +sky. Over the river a sheet of fog began to +rise, climbing the bank, overtopped it and then +suddenly pouring down flooded the countryside. +Pierre shuddered, and re-entering his cabin pulled-to +the shutter which served as a door.</p> + +<p>Stretched out on his camp bed he still remained +for a few minutes unable to sleep. On the chest +which served as a table the flame of the lamp was +on the point of dying. Out in the night a buffalo +bellowed. The hoarse cry, carried by the wind, +floated through the cabin; and as his lamp with +a final flicker of light died out, Pierre fell asleep.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The vague impression that there was a light in +the room woke him. He opened his eyes and turned +his head instinctively to the door. Immediately +he was on his feet. In the doorway, now wide +open, outlined against the milky sky illuminated +by the moonlight, a shadow was standing.</p> + +<p>Without giving him time to speak it made some +steps towards him. The shutter which it no longer +held back slammed heavily and the room was again +in black darkness. At the same time a feminine +voice spoke:</p> + +<p>"Do please light your lamp, Monsieur de Lursac."</p> + +<p>Pierre trembled: he recognized the sound of +this voice, its precision, its metallic timbre and +even its slight foreign accent. He immediately +knew it was his "Unknown," she of the <i>Vien-Thian</i>.</p> + +<p>The lamp relighted, he saw her actually standing +there, motionless, in the middle of the cabin. +She had put off the large felt hat that she had +been wearing on the boat. Now a fur toque imprisoned +her pale blonde hair, allowing only a +few stray wisps of it to show on the forehead and +temples, and at the sides two little curls that +shone like gold. She was dressed in a gray tailored +suit of which the coat was clasped to her +figure by a wide belt of red leather. Heavy brown +boots, very high cut, protected her legs: in her +slim gray-gloved hands she nervously twisted a +riding-whip. Her cold glance, and even her attitude, +showed a curious desire to provoke him, a +sort of cavalier haughtiness at once brusque and +determined.</p> + +<p>Pierre, saying nothing, watched her. With easy +grace she flung the whip on the bed, seated herself +and said:</p> + +<p>"I imagine, sir, that you know who I am."</p> + +<p>The ambiguity of the phrase made Lursac hesitate. +Was he to see in it a deliberate rudeness or +simply an allusion to their meeting on board the +boat? Although it struck him as lacking in tact, +Pierre chose the second hypothesis. Forcing himself +to remain passive, he replied:</p> + +<p>"I think, as a matter of fact, I saw you on board +the <i>Vien-Thian</i>."</p> + +<p>He bowed politely: "And what can I do for +you?"</p> + +<p>He had set the lamp on the bench by her and, +standing in front of the young woman, he awaited +her answer.</p> + +<p>With methodical quick movements she undid her +gloves, took them off and rolled them up. Her +hands were visible, long and pale, without a jewel. +There was silence for a minute, then she said:</p> + +<p>"M. de Lursac, would you kindly allow me a +few minutes' talk with you?"</p> + +<p>In spite of himself, Pierre smiled ironically.</p> + +<p>"The question seems to me...."</p> + +<p>She interrupted him brusquely.</p> + +<p>"I know, sir. My sudden intrusion into your +room has hardly left you any choice."</p> + +<p>And with her eyes suddenly grown hard, she +added:</p> + +<p>"I beg you to believe that I have not acted with +this lack of courtesy without having the most important +reasons."</p> + +<p>Pierre, in all sincerity, agreed:</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt of it."</p> + +<p>She let her cold glance fall on him. Her voice +softened.</p> + +<p>"The exceptional situation in which I find myself +must excuse anything in my behavior which +seems extraordinary. For the rest you must think +of me as you will: that doesn't matter."</p> + +<p>The young man bit his lips. Once more her +words seemed to him to possess a tinge of combined +haughtiness and aggressiveness which irritated +him. But immediately she continued:</p> + +<p>"M. de Lursac, you start tomorrow morning at +dawn, do you not?"</p> + +<p>Pierre assented:</p> + +<p>"Four o'clock in the morning exactly, for Post +32."</p> + +<p>"I know," said she, "I found out about it."</p> + +<p>Pierre's annoyance increased: sarcastically, he +thanked her.</p> + +<p>"I am indeed overcome with the interest which +you show in my movements."</p> + +<p>She seemed not to hear him, but an involuntary +tightening of her lips showed that his answer had +not escaped her. And this slight motion had in it +something so sad that Pierre could not help regretting +his having given way to irony.</p> + +<p>"It is on the very subject of this journey that +I have a request to make to you," she continued.</p> + +<p>Then looking him full in the face she said +slowly:</p> + +<p>"I wish to join Lieutenant Redeski at Post 32; +you would lay me under a great obligation if you +would take me there with you."</p> + +<p>As he made a sudden gesture of refusal, she +hastened to explain:</p> + +<p>"You are going to tell me that I ought to have +addressed myself to the chief of the government +service at Khône. I have not failed to do so. But +he, not content with refusing me the aid on which +I had counted, told me that he would, on the contrary, +put as many difficulties in my way as possible. +He had received formal instructions on this +point: no women are to go into the region which +you are about to enter, or at least no women with +the consent of the government. You see, sir, that +I am putting the case before you with as much +clearness and frankness as possible; and nevertheless, +having told you all that, I renew my request: +will you take me with you?"</p> + +<p>Pierre looked at her reflectively. With her figure +leaning lightly forward, her pale hands lying +listless on the bench, and her glance focussed in +the far distance, she sat waiting for an answer. He +made a few steps back and forth, thinking, then +he sat himself down next to her.</p> + +<p>"No," he declared coldly. "No, I will not take +you."</p> + +<p>She remained motionless, her glance still lost in +the distance. Only a slight wrinkling of her forehead +betrayed her disappointment. A long silence +fell, filled only by the low rumble of the rapids +of Hou-Sadan.</p> + +<p>Getting up, she said quietly:</p> + +<p>"I shall have to arrange in some way to go by +myself."</p> + +<p>He too had risen: he looked at her. All her pride +seemed gone; she lowered her head. Instead of +the expression she had worn up to that moment, +a different face—the true one, perhaps—appeared: +a young and tender face; and it seemed suddenly +to Pierre that it was another woman that stood +before him. She looked up, and he could see tears +in the depths of her brown eyes.</p> + +<p>She shrugged her shoulders wearily.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" she said, "that would have made things +so much easier. I should have seen him again +sooner.... This journey has been so long ... +so long and so horrible! And I have no one else +in the world but him, no one at all since we lost +our mother."</p> + +<p>Astonished, Lursac ejaculated:</p> + +<p>"Your mother?"</p> + +<p>She gave a little half-smile.</p> + +<p>"Yea, I have only forgotten one thing; to introduce +myself! I am Wanda Redeski, and it is my +brother who commands Post 32."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said he.</p> + +<p>And without being able to explain why, he felt +a strange happiness spread throughout his being.</p> + +<p>In a low voice she continued:</p> + +<p>"Yes, he is my brother, and I have come all this +way from the furthest part of Poland to rejoin him +and to say to him: Our mother is dead, and I have +no one left but you; let me live beside you!..."</p> + +<p>Suddenly raising her suppliant face to him, she +renewed her request:</p> + +<p>"Take me! ... take me!..."</p> + +<p>Two tears glittered down her cheeks and she +caught him by the arm. Pierre for a moment +looked down at the slim, beautiful hand whose +long thin pale fingers trembled on his wrist, and +suddenly walking towards the door, he said:</p> + +<p>"Come, then, since you wish it!"</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The dawn was breaking. Along the horizon +across the flooded river an amber light began to +spread, rising almost imperceptibly towards the +heavens where the stars were still twinkling. The +rain had stopped. On the threshold of the forest, +among the trees whose branches were still dripping +with the damp of the night, the great black forms +of six elephants, laden with cases and trunks, +showed. Half seen in the growing light, heavy +and formidable, they moved their trunks aloft, +plucking young twigs from the trees on either +side of them. Behind them the four ox-carts, each +furnished with its span of draft oxen, showed the +brown of their thatched tops in line.</p> + +<p>Pierre threw a final look over his caravan. +Crouched on the poles of their wagons the drivers, +whip in hand, awaited his orders, while in their +places on the necks of the elephants, the mahouts, +waiting, spoke endearments to their beasts. In +front, the guide, his machete in hand, was listening +attentively to the sounds of the forest.</p> + +<p>Coming up to the last but one of the ox-carts, +Lursac drew aside the canvas that closed the +rounded ends of the top and asked:</p> + +<p>"Are you absolutely decided?"</p> + +<p>The voice of Wanda Redeski came to him concise +and clear, with a strange sweetness in it, as +she said:</p> + +<p>"Absolutely, M. de Lursac."</p> + +<p>Pierre, turning to the escort, raised his hand.</p> + +<p>"<i>Paï, vaï, vaï!</i>"<a id="FNanchor_4_4" href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> he cried.</p> + +<p>And going to the head of the procession, he +swiftly entered the bluish penumbra of the heavy +Lao-ese forest, while gradually the shadows of +the night faded from the sky.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2> +</div> + +<h3>POST 32</h3> + + +<p>The man gave a couple of heavy strokes with +his paddle. His canoe turned, met the current +at an angle and slid towards the bank of the +canal, head-on. Mud squirted up and the canes +on the bank crashed backwards; and the light +skiff lay motionless in its bed. Jumping up on to +the limb of a mangrove, the savage tied his canoe; +then, picking up his bow and quiver, he slid from +branch to branch on to dry land.</p> + +<p>Standing at the edge of the level ground, he +looked about him. To his right the double palisade +of the military post could be seen, topped by the +roofs of its newly finished buildings. He turned +in that direction. At the postern gate he knocked +loudly, and then, sitting down with his back to +the heavy door, he waited patiently, his chin on +his knees.</p> + +<p>The Moï who ran up at the noise opened the +door cautiously, then asked angrily:</p> + +<p>"Was it you who knocked? What do you want?"</p> + +<p>"It was I," said the man calmly. "I want to +speak to the chief."</p> + +<p>The other looked at him carefully, up and down.</p> + +<p>"The lieutenant is away ... it is the priest +who, while awaiting his return...."</p> + +<p>"Go then: it is Father Ravennes that I will +see...."</p> + +<p>The convert grumbled:</p> + +<p>"Come in. I will go and tell him."</p> + +<p>And already he was hurrying off when the other +called to him:</p> + +<p>"Tell him what? You fool!"</p> + +<p>And as the Moï, abashed, stared at him, he ordered:</p> + +<p>"You will say to him that I have arrived from +the west and that I bring news...."</p> + +<p>And disdainfully shrugging his shoulders, he +began to roll a cigarette.</p> + +<p>"Hurry, now!" he added.</p> + +<p>Suppressing his anger, the convert went off. He +found the missionary in front of the look-out post. +Standing in the gateway, Father Ravennes was +directing the final efforts of those who were putting +the finishing touches to the building. Around +the various erections, of which the freshly plastered +walls shone white in the sunshine, a few <i>linhs</i> and +some twenty women were busied.</p> + +<p>The arrival of the convert drew his attention.</p> + +<p>"What is it? A courier from Khône-Sud?" said +he. "Bring him here."</p> + +<p>The man appeared at the entrance of the court, +and while he was salaaming before him the missionary +looked him over. It was one of the wild +Stiengs, small-built but strong. His body was +bare except for a brown cloth about his loins; his +face, of pronounced features, emphasized by the +square, projecting chin, was almost brutal, but +lighted by gray metallic-looking eyes. He spoke +in a loud voice, slightly hoarse and rather guttural, +in sonorous syllables which now and then fell into +a rhythmic chant. He made no gestures; merely +from time to time lifting his heavy crossbow of +shining redwood from one broad shoulder to the +other.</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant Darty of Post 30 sends you greeting. +He wishes to inform you that the Sedangs +of his region have deserted the village. Things +are happening around him which he does not understand +and which make him feel anxious. If you +go towards the west, do not fail to go and see him. +He would like to speak to you about these things. +Meanwhile he warns you to be on your guard."</p> + +<p>The missionary smiled carelessly.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said he, "for the three years that I have +been here I have done nothing else! Never mind, +the advice is always good. On your way back to +Khône-Sud you will give my thanks to Lieutenant +Darty. You will also tell him that I will come to +see him and as soon as I can. Is that all?"</p> + +<p>"No. There is a new chief at Post 28. The +former one has gone back to Saigon on a vacation. +In the low country through which I have come +the flood has carried away two villages...."</p> + +<p>"And the mail carrier? The letters, the papers?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing left! The sampan that carried the +mail was wrecked near Post 28, the mail sacks were +lost."</p> + +<p>"Very good," said Father Ravennes, "you can +go and rest yourself."</p> + +<p>The man remained motionless.</p> + +<p>"I have still this to tell you," said he, "Inspector +Keratel, of Khône-Sud, greets you. He has ordered +me to tell you that the administrator who +was to join the lieutenant here has started on his +way and will be here soon."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes lit his pipe.</p> + +<p>"How soon? They announced his arrival for +the end of the month, and this is the 6th.... +When will he be here, according to you?"</p> + +<p>The man considered for a minute and looked at +the sky.</p> + +<p>"Before the sun has set," said he. "We left +Khône-Sud together one moon<a id="FNanchor_5_5" href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> and four nights +ago, but after three days of the journey I left him +to take a short cut, and came up the canal in my +canoe. Unfortunately, the flood had made the +rapids impassable. I nearly got drowned in making +an attempt to cross at Ong-Sep and I had to +wait until the water went down. That kept me +back for at least two days. The others cannot be +far behind me."</p> + +<p>He fell silent, yawned and stretched himself. +Down his slender chest and along his thighs the +muscles rippled and stood out.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes dropped a hand on his shoulder.</p> + +<p>"When do you go back?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"In about two hours or so. I shall only stay +long enough to repair the hole in my canoe."</p> + +<p>"Good! I will give you some letters to take back +before you go. Is there anything you need?"</p> + +<p>Shaking his head proudly, the man pointed to +the bow which he held in his hand and the quiver +full of arrows hanging at his side.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "with that I have everything I +need."</p> + +<p>He saluted and made ready to go, but the missionary +still held him back.</p> + +<p>"Do you know the name of the administrator +who is coming here?"</p> + +<p>"The <i>cai</i> who was in command of the escort told +me his name; it is the Sahib Lursac."</p> + +<p>The missionary considered.</p> + +<p>"Lursac? I do not know that name."</p> + +<p>He turned towards the courier.</p> + +<p>"Very good," said he, "you can go now."</p> + +<p>But the man had already started. He crossed +the court. The blazing sun made his naked body +shine, and caught with a sparkle of light the steel +point of the crossbow laid across his shoulder.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes watched him pass through the +postern and disappear. He repeated thoughtfully +to himself:</p> + +<p>"Lursac? Lursac? A new arrival probably. +A strange idea to pick him out to send here!"...</p> + +<p>He remained thoughtful a minute, and then +murmured:</p> + +<p>"But that's what they always do at Saigon!..."</p> + +<p>Shrugging his shoulders, he strode off towards +the office.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>"There is the Post," said Pierre.</p> + +<p>And he stood motionless while the convoy, debouching +from the forest, reached the edge of the +valley. Standing beside the young man, Wanda +looked around the scene with curiosity.</p> + +<p>On her right the river flowed between its low +banks edged with canes and mangroves. On the +brink of the water the station stood, defended by +its double horseshoe-shaped palisade only broken +by a heavy gateway with a double door. Wrapping +it round on all sides and separated from the +fortifications only by a narrow clearing, the great +Lao-ese forest stood about it in a dark and rustling +circle which extended even to the very banks +of the canal. Facing the fort towards the north +rose hilly slopes, and behind them, blocking out +the sky, the chaotic mass of the great Moï range +stretched its sombre crests and its threatening +bulk, striped with alternate zones of shadow and +sunlight. On the other side, all the back country +across the river was nothing but a great plain of +monotonous red soil which stretched towards the +south as far as one could see.</p> + +<p>"Look," said Pierre, "they must have seen us!"</p> + +<p>Up the mast standing by the entry gate a flag +was crawling, and as the great double doors opened +a trumpet call resounded.</p> + +<p>Pierre turned to the girl.</p> + +<p>"Come," said he.</p> + +<p>They walked forward. Behind them the elephants +and then the ox-carts lumbered in their +turn, escorted by the native riflemen.</p> + +<p>The trumpet ceased. The shadow of night crept +upward into the day. A flight of wild geese crossed +the gathering dusk and their cries floated over +the plain.</p> + +<p>Standing before the doorway, Father Ravennes +awaited them. When Pierre de Lursac had come +within a few paces of him he came quickly to meet +them. His look fell on Wanda and his forehead +wrinkled. Suppressing his surprise, he introduced +himself:</p> + +<p>"Father Ravennes, of the Apostolic Mission to +the Banhars."</p> + +<p>"Administrator Pierre de Lursac."</p> + +<p>The missionary looked the young man over with +a swift glance. His face relaxed and he stretched +out his hand.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to welcome you to Post 32, in the +absence of Lieutenant Redeski," said he.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Wanda, "Michael is not here?... +Nothing has happened to him, has it?"</p> + +<p>The priest turned towards her. Pierre caught +the questioning glance which he threw first on +the young girl and then on him. He blushed.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Redeski," said he, "sister of the +lieutenant."</p> + +<p>And at the same time he in his turn looked the +priest over.</p> + +<p>He saw a man of some 45 years of age, clothed, +Annamese style, in a black tunic and white trousers. +Above his long bony body and planted on +broad shoulders his small head with its thin face +and pronounced features gave a singular impression +of sweetness and energy combined. The forehead, +high and smooth, and the chin prominent, +with a short grayish beard, gave to his face an +expression of strength of will, almost of severity; +but his eyes, large and pale, lit with dreams and +such as the apostles of the early ages of the Faith +must have had, illuminated the ascetic face, at +once virile and tender, with intelligence and kindness. +The missionary bowed.</p> + +<p>"Do not be disturbed, Mademoiselle, your +brother started three days ago on a tour of inspection +round the district. We did not expect M. +de Lursac for another three weeks, and Redeski +expected to be back here before that. I believe +further that he did not know ... at least he never +told me...."</p> + +<p>The young girl laughed aloud.</p> + +<p>"No, he doesn't even know of my arrival in Indo-China. +That will be a surprise for him."</p> + +<p>They had meanwhile been walking on and had +entered the courtyard of the fort. Behind them +the convoy had crossed the fortifications and the +gate had been closed. The priest climbed the +wooden outside stair leading to the officers' quarters. +Crossing the veranda which ran round the +whole façade of the building, he conducted the +young people through the rooms.</p> + +<p>"A domiciliary visit," said he, laughingly. "It +will not be a very long one. Five rooms: an office, +a dining room, three bedrooms. Because of the +damp ground, everything is built upon piles."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said Wanda, "how strange!"</p> + +<p>She had lifted a large screen of plaited bamboo, +and the river and the plain lay before her. The +yellow waters of the canal flowed at the very base +of the building and gurgled against the pillars +that supported it. Above the land floated a fine +dust which the setting sun gilded and turned to +clouds of rosy jade. A sky of shining mauve +stretched away to the vague horizon, which was +cut in two by a dark patch.</p> + +<p>The missionary pointed out this last to the young +people. "That is the clump of trees which surrounds +my Mission," said he. "I am your nearest +neighbor, ten miles away. The other posts, 30 and +28, are, the one, ten days' journey to the east, and +the other, eight days to the west...."</p> + +<p>He had let the screen fall into its place again +and continued his explanations.</p> + +<p>"The arrangement of the rooms is very simple. +They are all in a row and have communicating +doors. To the south they look over the plain; on +the north, that is to say the side of the veranda, +they open towards the mountains. As for the +furnishing, it is very primitive—as you see: beds, +a few tables, a dozen chairs, and chests everywhere. +On the other hand you have four oil lamps +and two candle lamps; a luxury which you will +soon come to appreciate at its right value."</p> + +<p>They went out on the veranda again.</p> + +<p>In the middle of the court the riflemen were finishing +the unloading of the ox-carts. The elephants, +already free of their burdens, were tied in +their sheds beside the oxen.</p> + +<p>The missionary pointed out the subsidiary buildings, +one by one.</p> + +<p>"On the right, against the palisade, the barracks +for the men, the store-rooms, the cook-houses, the +cabins for the servants and the drivers; on the +left, facing them, the sheds for the draft animals +and the stables; this little thatched hut raised +above the ground by the entry-gate houses the +guard who keeps watch every night from the first +night-watch to the first morning-watch. And +that's all."</p> + +<p>He drew himself up; his expression became +grave, and while with a wave of his arm he included +the whole countryside, he said:</p> + +<p>"Your whole life from now on will be passed +within this double stockade. Redeski, when he +gets back, will explain to you all the details of the +service. But for the present, I shall be bold +enough to give you some advice: Do not go too far +from the fort in the course of your walks or rides, +at least at first...."</p> + +<p>Wanda, turning towards him, demanded:</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"Because you are here in the middle of an unsubdued +region and on the very threshold of the +Moï country into which no European has yet been +able to penetrate."</p> + +<p>The young girl looked at him. Her voice took on +a troubled note.</p> + +<p>"But what about Michael?..."</p> + +<p>The priest realized her anxiety and the question +which she hardly dared to ask.</p> + +<p>"Oh," said he, "Redeski has taken his precautions. +He is accompanied by eight armed native +soldiers, and, besides, he is not travelling in the +direction of the Pou-Kas...."</p> + +<p>The sky darkened rapidly, the distant flank of +the mountains behind which the sun had disappeared +had deepened to a blackish blue. The +shadows stretching down from their crests reached +almost to the Post, and already the plain lay blotted +out. Above the river the hoarse night-cry of +a water fowl grated through the silence. The last +packages of the convoy had been carried into the +store sheds, and around the empty court a few +fowls were straying and pecking in the dust.</p> + +<p>"It is time for me to go," said Father Ravennes, +"I will come back in two or three days to see if I +can be of any service to you. In any case if you +need me you know where the Mission is. You +only have to cross the canal and go straight forward +towards that clump of trees in the middle of +which it is hidden. It is only a matter of three-quarters +of an hour or so on horseback, and everything +there is yours as much as mine.... <i>Au +revoir!</i>"</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said Pierre, "we will come very +soon."</p> + +<p>The priest descended the narrow stairway. His +form grew vague and smaller and then mingled +with the shadows with which the court was flooded.</p> + +<p>Leaning over the rail of the balcony, Wanda +called after him in her turn:</p> + +<p>"We will come as soon as we have got our +things put straight. <i>Au revoir!</i>"</p> + +<p>His voice, already distant, floated up to them.</p> + +<p>"<i>Au revoir!</i>"</p> + +<p>Leaning on their elbows side by side, Wanda +and Pierre listened a minute longer to the footsteps +of the priest as they became fainter and +fainter and at last died away in the night. Then, +turning and looking at each other, they smiled +softly....</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2> +</div> + +<h3>AT THE MISSION</h3> + + +<p>Father Ravennes crossed the courtyard +of his Mission with great strides. In front +of the chapel he stopped. It was a rectangular +building with a mud roof surmounted by a simple +black cross; from each side of the building, like +windows, three bays stood out covered with great +screens of woven rattan. A single door gave access +to it, massive and reënforced by crossbeams roughly +squared, closed by two staples through which +passed the hasp of a heavy padlock.</p> + +<p>Before the chapel, suspended to a wooden +bracket, a gong hung with its wooden striker. Seizing +the hammer the priest with swift violent blows +made the bronze resound. The sonorous vibrations +swelled out through the air and filled the +whole court, penetrating to the interior of the narrow +huts perched on their bases of piles against +the stockade of pointed bamboo.</p> + +<p>Disturbed in their morning hour of quiet a +dozen or so of blackbirds flew out and scattered +with sharp cries. The fowls that were pecking +about ran off in fright, flapping their wings. +From the house of the priest next the chapel a +native dog, lean and surly, charged out and began +running round and round in front of the gong, +barking madly.</p> + +<p>"Quiet, Jang!" cried the priest.</p> + +<p>He had restored the striker to the bracket, and +was watching his flock who, hurriedly emerging +from their huts, had come to group themselves in +front of him.</p> + +<p>There were some thirty, all told; a miserable +crowd composed principally of women and children. +And according to the order of their arrival, +after a respectful salaam, they sat back on their +heels holding their children by the hand. Behind +them, standing up, a few men showed their hollowed +faces turned towards the priest, and their +naked bodies in which the bones seemed almost +ready to come through the brown and dirty skin.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes looked at them steadily. But +they turned away their eyes, submitting to his inspection +with an appearance of annoyance and +constraint which he noted.</p> + +<p>When he saw them all ranged before him, he +stretched his hand toward the mountain of which +the blue slopes showed faintly far away towards +the north.</p> + +<p>"What did you go to do over there last night?" +he demanded.</p> + +<p>There was a deep silence. Motionless, their +faces as expressionless as masks, the men hung +their heads.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes leaned forward.</p> + +<p>"Why did you go there?" he questioned again.</p> + +<p>He seemed this time to address himself to the +women and his voice became imperious. But they +remained silent, simply clasping their children +tighter to them.</p> + +<p>The missionary, drawing back, made a few steps +to the rear.</p> + +<p>"Very well," he said roughly, "since you have +nothing to say...."</p> + +<p>A voice interrupted him:</p> + +<p>"We went for a walk in the forest, Father, it +was a hot night...."</p> + +<p>The priest advanced towards the one who had +just spoken and stared him out of countenance.</p> + +<p>"It was a hot night ..." he repeated.</p> + +<p>The other, small and puny, with an air of insincerity, +turned his eyes away.</p> + +<p>"Yes, very hot and we couldn't sleep, and...."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes drew himself up to his full +height. He loomed large, bony and strong, dominating +them all with his powerful carriage. He +caught the man by the arm and forced him to turn +his face to him.</p> + +<p>"Why are you lying?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>The other stammered:</p> + +<p>"But I am not lying, Father, I...."</p> + +<p>The missionary passionately cut him short:</p> + +<p>"Be silent. I tell you that you are lying. You +are all lying."</p> + +<p>Two of his flock at his side made a gesture of +protest which he saw.</p> + +<p>"Yes, true," said he, "I am unjust: you were not +in it, you two, and I am very glad.... But these +others?..."</p> + +<p>He flung away violently the man he had been +holding.</p> + +<p>"Away with you!" said he.</p> + +<p>Then turning towards the still silent group of +his converts he flung at them:</p> + +<p>"What you refuse to tell me I am going to tell +you. You went to the <i>Bo-Jaou</i>.<a id="FNanchor_6_6" href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> How many times +have I told you and told you, that a Christian cannot +believe in sorcery. When I think that you have +been here for more than a year, and that in spite +of all, all that I have told you, you continue to take +part in the mummeries of this ... it's enough to +drive me mad! A saint himself would lose patience +with you, and I am not a saint."</p> + +<p>A clear voice interrupted him:</p> + +<p>"Oh! Father Ravennes, I am afraid that we have +arrived at the wrong time. We have come to ask +you for lunch. Can we come in?"</p> + +<p>The missionary swiftly turned his head. On the +other side of the palisade behind the entrance gate +he saw Wanda and Pierre.</p> + +<p>"Certainly," said he, "come in, and welcome! It +is true that I am sinning terribly at this moment, +but God will not call me to account for it; it is for +the good of the Faith! Just look at them!"</p> + +<p>With a circular gesture he pointed out the group +of converts. The sleeve of his tunic swept the air +around him. On his great chest the silver cross +suspended by its rosary jumped. He repeated +passionately:</p> + +<p>"Look at them! They came to me pitiful, +wretched and suffering: I took them in. For more +than a year every day I have preached the Gospel +to them, and all of them—men and women—have +begged me to teach them the truths of our holy +religion. One by one, I have cared for them, cured +them, and little by little came to love them as my +children, and then I baptized them. Look at that +one, Ngui...."</p> + +<p>With his forefinger he pointed at one of the men.</p> + +<p>"Scarcely a fortnight ago, when the time came +for him to receive baptism, and I put to him the +questions set down in the ritual: '<i>Do you believe in +God? Do you renounce Satan?</i>' instead of answering +me as I had taught him: '<i>I renounce him</i>,' +this fellow, forgetting his instructions in an enthusiasm +which filled my priest's heart with joy, +cried out, '<i>Yes, yes, I renounce him with all my +heart and for ever!</i>' And yet in spite of that, last +night it was he who was at their head and guided +them when they were on their way to take part in +the ceremonies of Bo-Jaou!"</p> + +<p>He walked towards the frightened group, and +catching at random a woman with a child hanging +on to the edge of her tunic, he shook her roughly:</p> + +<p>"For I followed you, do you hear? And when +you ran away, seeing a shadow which you did not +wait to recognise, I saw you, and I know enough +of it all to be able to describe to you all your +underhand doings. Indeed I will describe them +to you."</p> + +<p>Letting go of the woman he thumped the shoulder +of a man who stood near him.</p> + +<p>"It was you," he said, "who opened the gate for +them. It was eleven o'clock, and while they slid +out you stayed on watch to see if I noticed anything. +You were quite satisfied, weren't you? At +that time I am always asleep. But the good God +arranged it so that on that very afternoon I overheard +one of you saying, 'The sign is cut upon the +sacred banyan tree. It will be tonight!' I became +suspicious. Aroused to full watchfulness I watched +you from behind my blinds, and when you had gone +out, with Ngui at the head and you at the end of +the line, I set out on your track.</p> + +<p>"You ran across the plain. The night was dark, +only lighted up a little here and there by a ray of +moonlight from between the clouds. You went +towards the mountain. I saw you take the canoes +on the bank of the river and cross it, go round the +fort and disappear in the forest. As you had taken +away all the canoes, I followed you by swimming. +That took time. When I reached the other side of +the river you had disappeared. Before me rose the +first outpost of the Pou-Kas. I was unarmed! But +nevertheless, after a short prayer, I set out +towards a vague light which appeared and disappeared +in the distance between the trees. After a +walk of half an hour, on reaching a clearing I saw +you, you, Nmur, you, Dok, all of you ... all of +you, ranged around the jar of the libations and +watching Jieng who was dancing before a brazier +and howling while she gashed her face, her arms +and her breast with sword-cuts!"</p> + +<p>Pierre de Lursac came forward excitedly.</p> + +<p>"Jieng, the famous sorceress of whom you spoke +to us. Have you seen her?..."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes, turning round to him, broke +into his speech.</p> + +<p>"Chut!" said he. "Let me finish with these +people."</p> + +<p>And with a sudden turn he faced the converts +and continued:</p> + +<p>"Yes, you were all there and when you saw a +shadow—mine—in front of you, you all ran away, +Jieng at your head, scattering among the shadows +of the forest. But by the abandoned fire I found +this, which I brought back with me."</p> + +<p>As he spoke, going to one of the windows of the +chapel, he raised the screen and picked up a Moï +sword. The thick blade, short and tapering to a +point, shone spotted here and there with reddish +stains. He held it a moment above his head high +in the air, then flinging it with all his force into +the middle of the court he cried:</p> + +<p>"There is the sword which was used in the ceremonies. +Now, will you still deny it?"</p> + +<p>And he stood silent, trembling with emotion, +drawn to his full height and facing the group of +his converts who turned towards him faces full of +woe and distress.</p> + +<p>Standing at his side even Wanda and Pierre +shuddered. The same emotion moved them both. +They looked wonderingly at this man who lived +there, lost in the depths of the Lao-ese forest, sustained +only by his ideal of a priest's duty, and +they gave him the tribute of their admiration, +thinking of all that he had abandoned, of all that +he had not hesitated to leave behind him—fatherland, +parents, friends—to try and gain for his faith +a few strays of this primitive and uncivilized race.</p> + +<p>But already gaining control of himself the priest +turned again to his converts.</p> + +<p>"And now," said he in a deep voice, "listen to +me: I came here from Pho-Rang,<a id="FNanchor_7_7" href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> my country, to +live among you. You were slaves and I have made +you free men and women. Your souls were wandering +in the darkness, and I have tried to save +those ignorant souls, purchased by the blood of +Jesus Christ; but you have remained blind; you +have not wanted to believe; you have had for me +double hearts and double minds. To my love you +have answered only with hypocrisy, lies and daily +deceits...."</p> + +<p>He made a gesture which seemed to sweep them +all away from him.</p> + +<p>"I am tired," said he, "of struggling for you +against yourselves... Go away from here. Return +to your villages. I send you off.... Go.... +Go...."</p> + +<p>A silence of surprised horror weighed upon +them. Then a woman's cry rang out, taken up and +echoed by the voices of the others:</p> + +<p>"Father, O Father! ... keep us here!..."</p> + +<p>The women had risen to their feet; they ran up, +trying to fling themselves at the feet of the priest.</p> + +<p>"Not that.... O Father.... Not that. We +can't go back to the mountain! Spare us!"</p> + +<p>Fear shook them all, an incomprehensible and +unexpected fear.</p> + +<p>In his turn a man broke out into supplication:</p> + +<p>"Pardon us, Father.... It is true ... we did +go there, but we didn't know, we didn't think +that that would make you angry ... forgive us!"</p> + +<p>The missionary gazed at them thoughtfully. +Kneeling at his feet, their hands stretched out +toward him, a mask of very terror distorting their +features, they groaned and trembled; and although +this sudden terror seemed to him as yet another +mystery, the priest felt a great pity sweep over +him. His glance strayed about him.</p> + +<p>From a pale metallic sky the sun was beating +fiercely down. It filled the entire court, like a huge +cup, with dazzling heat and light: above it the air +throbbed and palpitated. The blackbirds, who had +been frightened for a minute, had now returned to +their familiar roosting-places and were hopping +about among the bamboo stakes of the palisade, +squawking and whistling, intoxicated with the +glare.</p> + +<p>In the centre of the court the great black cross +which dominated the chapel threw its shadow, and +its wide-spread arms traced on the yellow soil the +Christian symbol of pardon and redemption.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes raised his hand.</p> + +<p>"Very well," said he slowly, "but this is the +second time that I have pardoned you, and by the +holy Cross, whose servant I am, I swear to you that +if I catch you a third time I shall be inexorable."</p> + +<p>A voice promised:</p> + +<p>"We will obey...."</p> + +<p>And a confusion of cries immediately arose:</p> + +<p>"We will never go to the forest any more! We +swear it, Father! We all swear it! Believe us! +Oh, believe us!"</p> + +<p>The missionary nodded. His strong face, drawn +with fatigue, grew soft.</p> + +<p>"It is well," said he, "go now and resume your +regular life."</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2> +</div> + +<h3>AN ENTHUSIAST DISCOURSES ON PRE-HISTORIC +REMAINS</h3> + + +<p>"Then really," said Wanda, "you are not +worried?"</p> + +<p>The priest turned his glance upon her. He observed +her anxiety. Although she forced herself +to hide it, her pale face was shadowed and her eyelids +fluttered lightly. He tried to reassure her.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "certainly I would prefer to know +that Redeski had reached Post 28. He ought to +have got there last week, but when you come to +think of it, what of it? He is only six days late on +his schedule, and in the forest that's nothing—especially +at this season...."</p> + +<p>Pierre nodded agreement.</p> + +<p>The three of them were finishing their lunch on +the balcony of the priest's house. Once more clouds +had invaded the sky, and across the courtyard of +the Mission their shadows lay and sped swiftly +between two shafts of sunlight.</p> + +<p>The young girl lifted her relaxed face to the +priest with a brave attempt at smiling.</p> + +<p>"I suppose I am absurd, but Michael means so +much in my life.... I have no one but him...."</p> + +<p>"I understand," said the missionary with tenderness, +"but do not torture yourself unnecessarily. +He will be here in a fortnight at most, telling us +why he was late.... Besides...."</p> + +<p>He broke off, for the serving boy who had placed +a basket of fruit on the table asked:</p> + +<p>"Will the Father take his coffee here?"</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes consulted his guests with a +look.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "we will take it in 'the Cave!'"</p> + +<p>Wanda, who was picking out a fruit, made a +sudden movement. The purple and yellow pyramid +of mangoes and lichis rolled scattered about +the table. Absent-mindedly she queried:</p> + +<p>"The Cave?"</p> + +<p>The boy had silently disappeared.</p> + +<p>"The room reserved for my prehistoric collection," +explained the priest, stretching out his legs, +and with a laugh he continued:</p> + +<p>"It is true ... though of course you could not +know it! I am absorbed in everything prehistoric, +and I realize that this prepossession has become a +regular passion with me!"</p> + +<p>And with a sort of ingenuous doubt he enquired: +"You don't see anything sinful in that, do you?"</p> + +<p>Lursac smiled.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "and I absolve you in advance! +Although this scientific pre-occupation seems to +me neither very Christian nor warranted by the +doctrines of the Church, and that...."</p> + +<p>The missionary protested strongly:</p> + +<p>"You are wrong," said he, "there is nothing to +prevent priests from making a study of this sort.... +I was already taken up with it while I was at +the Seminary of Foreign Missions at Paris, and +my masters never told me...."</p> + +<p>"However," said Wanda in her turn, "doesn't +the Old Testament tell us that man was created by +God not more than six thousand years ago?"</p> + +<p>Pierre remarked:</p> + +<p>"Well, well, Mademoiselle, I would not have +believed you so versed in theological matters."</p> + +<p>Then turning towards the missionary:</p> + +<p>"Well, what have you to say to that?"</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Simply this," said he, "that Mademoiselle is +making a very common mistake. You can open the +Sacred Book and you will find in Genesis no precise +date at which primitive man must have been +born. It is the chronologists who, since the fifteenth +century, have endeavored to force biblical +facts into their system of chronology. The best +proof of that is that the Church has never consented +to making it an article of faith that the +creation of man took place six thousand years +ago."</p> + +<p>Lursac, who had just finished peeling a mango, +went on teasing him:</p> + +<p>"But I don't think, however, that many priests +occupy themselves with such problems as this."</p> + +<p>The missionary disputed the statement:</p> + +<p>"Yes indeed!... Abbés Bourgeois and Delaunay, +Monseigneur Meignan himself—just to quote +those who are in some sort my predecessors—have +all written important works on this very question. +Of the present day I can cite you Abbés Breuil and +Bremond...."</p> + +<p>He got up, and walking in front of them he +guided them towards "the Cave." It was a long +room, of which the entire furnishings consisted of +a narrow bench which ran round the walls and was +divided by partitions, and a long table on trestles +littered with stones, arms and other strange and +primitive instruments. A large bay with the usual +screen of plaited bamboo lighted the room, cutting +a great rectangle in the mud wall through which +the sun poured in. On the other walls, from the +bench up to the ceiling, hung all sorts of prehistoric +remains, forming an extraordinary mixture. +Crowded against each other, each one provided +with its label or its inscription, they enriched the +gray background with outlandish patterns. Rough, +heavy knives, axes and scrapers of flint hung close +together beside bone daggers and bodkins worn +smooth by the lapse of centuries. Further along, +gruesome fragments of human skeletons colored +like old ivory were mixed with pieces of animal +bones on a large panel, flanked by rags of clothing +and strips of hide. In an angle near the bay two +yellow and angular skulls lay on a shelf. Their +empty jaws with the mouths hanging open and +their hollow eye-sockets formed great holes filled +with shadows.</p> + +<p>The room thus decorated gave the strange and +complex effect of a museum of bric-a-brac and a +tomb combined.</p> + +<p>Wanda and Pierre had sat themselves down on +the bench.</p> + +<p>Standing before the table Father Revennes gazed +affectionately at his collection.</p> + +<p>"My harvest, gathered in the three years that I +have been here," he said with naïve pride.</p> + +<p>Lursac showed his surprise.</p> + +<p>"Three years? I didn't know that Laos was so +rich in prehistoric remains!"</p> + +<p>The missionary had taken one of the skulls +between his sunburnt hands and while he spoke +he handled it gently with motions that were almost +caressing. He did not seem to have heard Lursac's +remark. With his eyes full of admiration he +repeated:</p> + +<p>"My most beautiful specimen.... A quarternary +human skull! A real wonder, for it is unique.... +Do you realize it?... Unique! And I defy +anyone in Europe to show me one as truly characteristic +and in such perfect condition. Their +'Cro-Magnon'? Pooh! Trash compared to this +one...."</p> + +<p>He gave a smile of triumph at once naïve and +solemn.</p> + +<p>"And when I think," said he with enthusiasm, +"that in this bony cup, over forty thousand years +ago, there used to be a brain that created +thoughts, desires, and feelings, which were doubtless +exactly the same as our thoughts, desires and +feelings...."</p> + +<p>He stopped, regarding with a sort of affection +the skull which he had put on the table before him. +Then touching his own forehead with his fingers +he murmured:</p> + +<p>"The same forehead, and—who knows—perhaps +the same soul, which time has simply kept apart +from this one without separating them."</p> + +<p>The voice of Wanda broke in.</p> + +<p>"O Father! can we have the same soul as a +superior ape?"</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes jumped round.</p> + +<p>"Primitive man, an ape!" said he, "where have +you read that heresy? In Lamarck, in Carl Vogt, +or in Huxley? But it is an outrageous theory, long +ago given up."</p> + +<p>He went on, his voice trembling with excitement:</p> + +<p>"It is enough to have eyes and to look at them; a +child couldn't be deceived. How could such a +gross error have originated? Everything proves +that the human type is independent of the animal.... +Look!" he said, as he took from the shelf the +second skull and placed it on the table beside the +first, and emphasising his words with his finger, he +continued:</p> + +<p>"They pretend to base their opinion on anatomical +comparison. The ignoramuses! Look! +Here is a man's skull from the earliest of primitive +ages, and here is a baboon's, the simian species +which is nearest to the human type. See here and +here: the chin, the teeth, the general appearance, +the structural lines of these two skulls proclaim +their distinct origin and prove that the ape belongs +to a totally different species from man."</p> + +<p>Relieved by his own violence he shrugged his +shoulders with scorn. Lursac and Wanda had +risen and were standing one on each side of the +missionary. In silence they regarded the hollow +bony forms standing on the table before them, +which, dull and dirty, grinned back at them with +toothless mouths and missing noses and their whole +surfaces spotted as with leprosy.</p> + +<p>"What does it matter?" said Wanda. "What +surprises me as it does Lursac is this extraordinary +abundance of fossils in the neighborhood."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes turned to them.</p> + +<p>"You are right; and my astonishment was even +greater than yours. I didn't expect such rich discoveries! +Just remember that usually it needs ten, +a dozen, perhaps fifteen years of exploration and +of digging to discover and bring to light a few +anthropological specimens, less rare and, above all, +in a much worse state of preservation than most +of these you see here. But what is really extraordinary +about it is the way in which I found them. +It would be natural enough to find here in the +depths of the Lao-ese forest some remains of quaternary +man. General opinion agrees, as a matter +of fact, that our first ancestors were born and lived +in central and southern Asia before spreading +themselves over different parts of the globe.... +Yes, here! somewhere around us, must have been +the cradle of the human race...."</p> + +<p>"You said," interrupted Pierre, "that you found +these things in some extraordinary way.... How +was that?"</p> + +<p>The missionary smiled mysteriously.</p> + +<p>"Listen," said he. "When I first arrived here I +built myself a hut, and every morning, after I had +said mass, I started out on horseback. I just followed +my nose, attempting to spread the Word of +God. One day I lost myself in the forest on the +border of the Moï country, opposite your fort."</p> + +<p>Lursac cried:</p> + +<p>"Ah! in the Dead Zone?..."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the missionary. "Yes, that is where I +have made all my finds; and on each occasion the +axes, the tools, the arms, the skeletons or the +clothes were in a heap, piled round a black stone +curiously shaped, erected like a fetich before a +<i>nihuer</i>.<a id="FNanchor_8_8" href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> Therefore it is absolutely certain that it +was the natives who must have brought them there. +But where did they find them and why do they +attach to them this sacred character which seems +to be denoted by their presence before the altar of +incantations?"</p> + +<p>Lursac thoughtfully listened to him. With his +thoughts dwelling on these savage hosts in the +midst of which the fort and the Mission stood up +like two lost islands he called to mind the counsels +of prudence which the missionary had given them +the evening of their arrival. And suddenly there +flashed across him the mysterious fate of Longères +and Dorcel. With some abruptness he asked:</p> + +<p>"Don't you think that this may be one of the +elements of this unknown religion whose presence +we feel all about us?"</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes lighted his pipe. Through the +open window, beyond the bamboos and the trees +which surrounded the Mission, the russet-colored +plain was visible, with the widening line of the +canal marked by its border of mangroves, and further +away the bulk of the Pou-Kas, holding up +against the luminous sky the dark wildness of its +vast flanks.</p> + +<p>The missionary, after a long silence, looked at +the young man.</p> + +<p>"It is a question," said he, "about which I have +often thought. It seems probable, as a matter of +fact, that these prehistoric remains do serve some +function in the mysterious religion which holds in +its grip this entire region from the mountain to +the plain! Perhaps, indeed, it is even the very +essence of it."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps?" enquired Wanda. "Have you never +then tried to find out? That surprises me! It +seems that I...."</p> + +<p>"Find out! ..." said the missionary with a gesture +of weariness, "find out! Everything that surrounds +us here, as I have already told you, is vague +and incomprehensible. We are struggling in a +mass of tricks, of lies and hypocrisies from a race +that hates us and of which we know practically +nothing. Find out! I have tried, certainly!... +I began by questioning those who came to me. But +directly one touches the subject one finds oneself +at a stone wall. Then if one goes on to speak of +this sorceress, this Jieng, whose power, although +it is hidden, is none the less actual and far-reaching, +they tremble and become terrified. Then if +one presses them yet further, they say it is a +legend and that there is no such person as Jieng +and never was."</p> + +<p>He turned towards the young people.</p> + +<p>"However," said he, "you know that I came on +them last night with her in the forest. But she +holds them by some sort of magical charm and +religious fear.... Never having been able to get +anything out of my converts, I made up my mind +to look for myself. I paid them back trick for +trick, patience for patience. I became desperate, +driven by a curiosity which has gradually turned +into a strange mixture of fear and obsession...."</p> + +<p>He broke off to replace the two skulls on the +shelf.</p> + +<p>"And this is what I finally discovered," he went +on. "It's little enough and it's so vague in meaning +that I have almost hesitated to speak to you +about it. It was about three years ago—I had just +arrived, and Post 32 had just been destroyed for +the second time—I was returning from a circuit +that I had made towards the mountain and night +had overtaken me on my journey—a summer night, +warm, milky and starlit. I was riding slowly, letting +my horse take his own time. When I got to +the bank of the canal I stopped, looking for the +ford by which to cross it. Before me, stretching +to the horizon, the plain lay lit by the moon with +that light at once intense and subdued which one +sees only in the night of the far east. Suddenly +my attention was drawn to something unusual: +across the sandy hills streamed processions of +black spots, tiny and almost invisible. From the +distance it looked like an army of ants on the +march. I made out four, then six, then eight—eight +columns, which, crossing the plain, were +advancing directly towards me. They seemed to +come from the extreme edge of the landscape, +beyond the deserted plain in the middle of which +the Mission stands. Intrigued, I turned back into +the shade of the forest, hid myself and continued +watching. The eight columns kept on moving. +They joined into one the other side of the canal, +crossed it by the ford, mounted the bank on this +side and, passing in front of me, commenced to +ascend the mountain. I followed them carefully, +and I noticed with astonishment that this strange +procession was composed exclusively of women. +Walking on the edges of it, a couple of dozen men +at most, with lances in their hands and crossbows +on their shoulders, accompanied them. At the head +of the line went a group of sorceresses, dancing +and gesticulating, yelling incomprehensible and +strident invocations, and lifting towards the pallid +moon animal-like faces, seamed with scars. When +they reached the threshold of the Sacred Forest +they came to a stop. The women lined up in a vast +semicircle and I recognized among them girls of +every age, of every sort and of every race: Reungaos, +Halong, Jelung, Benoun of the great tribe +of Banhars; Keumrang, Duan, Hêre, of the powerful +clan of the Sedangs; Djiru, Heun, Oy, Sapuan, +who all belong to the Bolovens.... Every tribe +and every dialect of the Moï country was represented +there. A gathering extraordinary and incredible +to anyone who knows the love for their +own village and the jealous passion of separatism +with which each of these clans is animated!... +And seeing all these various and dissimilar faces +turned towards the sorceresses with the same expression +of submission and anxiety upon them, I +first realized the danger, yes the danger, of an +unsuspected religion, and it was there in that +clearing on the border of the Sacred Forest that +suddenly I got some idea of the terrible power +wielded by Jieng.</p> + +<p>"She had at that moment risen up, lame, her +face scarred with wounds, and with a single gesture +she made them all bend, men and women, in one +simultaneous terrified movement of obeisance. +Then with a sharp command she sent the men off. +'No males can enter the Dead Country. Your +women will be returned to you on the seventh night +of the fourth moon from now. Go!' And they +went, their heads hanging, without a word; while +on their side the great column of women, re-formed +under the directions of the sorceresses, resumed its +march and continued the ascent toward the Pou-Kas, +slowly entering the great forest and disappearing +among its shadows...."</p> + +<p>He ceased, took several strides about the room, +then still holding in his eye the vision of the scene +which he had just recalled he said:</p> + +<p>"That is what I saw.... I know no more!"</p> + +<p>Wanda gave a short sigh and asked:</p> + +<p>"But where did they go? And what was the +meeting for?"</p> + +<p>The missionary made a vague gesture.</p> + +<p>"I do not know," he said.</p> + +<p>Then hesitating and picking his words:</p> + +<p>"I imagine,—please notice that I assert nothing +because I know nothing exactly,—I imagine that +in the depths of the Pou-Kas there must be a sanctuary,—a +temple perhaps—or it may be only a +place of pilgrimage, to which only women have the +right of approach.... Remember that sentence +of Jieng's, 'Males may not enter the Dead Country.'" +He repeated thoughtfully:</p> + +<p>"A religion of mystery, peculiar to the women +and the secret of which no man can penetrate, no +man, not even those of their own blood!..."</p> + +<p>Still seated on the bench, her chin in her hand, +Wanda watched him. With a light burning in her +eyes she asked:</p> + +<p>"And this temple ... where is it?"</p> + +<p>The missionary shrugged his shoulders. He +swept his hand across the window and his gesture +seeming to include the whole confused mass of +mountains which stood along the horizon:</p> + +<p>"Without any doubt, there!" he said.</p> + +<p>Wanda rose. Her lingering glance for a long +time searched the blue slopes of the Pou-Kas, the +sharp crest of which, barred with forest and +clothed with jungle, dominated the entire range.</p> + +<p>She stood, thoughtful, for a moment, then +repeated:</p> + +<p>"There!..." And smiled strangely.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2> +</div> + +<h3>THE SILENT VILLAGE</h3> + + +<p>"Believe me when I say it, Lursac, that it +would be simply foolishness for you to venture +through the forest at this time of year."</p> + +<p>Pierre remained quiet. An answer came to his +lips which he suppressed. An answer which in +another place and some weeks earlier he had +heard given by a young girl.</p> + +<p>He contented himself with nodding doubtfully.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes, getting out of his chair, strode +up and down the veranda, his steps sounding +loudly on the bare planking. He went on:</p> + +<p>"At least wait until we have an answer from +Post 28. The messenger that I sent there cannot +be very much longer before returning; and, again, +you must think of Mademoiselle Redeski whom +you could not leave alone. I only hope that you +will never have to repent having brought her up +here."</p> + +<p>Pierre shook his head.</p> + +<p>"She would have come just the same without +help.... As for leaving her alone, I have thought +of that; she will come and stay with you here at +the Mission."</p> + +<p>Rising in his turn he took the missionary by the +arm and strode with him for several paces.</p> + +<p>"I suppose," he said, "that you understand the +situation as well as I do. It is now ten days since +Redeski ought to have returned. The last news we +have had of him dates from three weeks back. He +was then on the Moï plateau marching north. +Since that, nothing!... Something serious must +have happened evidently; it would be childish for +us to ignore the fact."</p> + +<p>"I don't wish to do so," said the priest. "The +best proof of that is that I have sent out three of +my converts to beat the countryside in search of +information."</p> + +<p>"Well?" asked Pierre anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Two of them got back yesterday. No results!... +No trace of Redeski or of his escort."</p> + +<p>Pierre shot him a glance. "You see!" said he.</p> + +<p>The priest grumbled.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I see! I see!... But then again we +have no accurate information: we don't even know +in which direction to search. And on the other +hand, nothing goes to prove that Redeski is in any +danger, and very likely we are disturbing ourselves +quite unnecessarily. The wisest thing, I repeat, is +to await our answer from Post 28."</p> + +<p>"When shall we have it?" asked Pierre.</p> + +<p>"In eight days, ten, at the most. Then it will be +time enough to organize our expedition."</p> + +<p>Pierre shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Our expedition! ... that's a rather large +word."</p> + +<p>The missionary, taking out his pipe, filled it carefully, +and having loaded it he looked thoughtfully +at the young man.</p> + +<p>"Listen to me," he said hesitatingly, "I ... I +do not know if you understand why I speak to you +in this way, but...."</p> + +<p>Pierre looked at him.</p> + +<p>"I imagine that you consider yourself responsible...."</p> + +<p>The face of the missionary lighted up with a +friendly smile.</p> + +<p>"The fact is," he said, "that you are just like a +child in this country."</p> + +<p>And as Pierre made a motion of protest he added +quickly:</p> + +<p>"You misunderstand me.... Bravery has +nothing to do with this matter. Others who certainly +were just as brave as you have lost their +lives here. The fact is that there are definite rules +for the conduct of the struggle which we are waging.... And +they had no idea of them—while I, +who have lived fifteen years in the forest, I know +the game from the bottom up. I say it without any +kind of pride and with all sincerity; although since +my arrival here nothing has yet appeared to confirm +my suspicions, I have the feeling that of all +the parts of Indo-China in which I have lived this +one is the most unsafe...."</p> + +<p>Lursac, attentive to his words, watched the face +of the priest.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean? I suppose you are thinking +of the stories of Longères and Dorcel? You know +about them of course?"</p> + +<p>The missionary made an affirmative motion.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said he simply.</p> + +<p>A silence fell between them. From the court the +voice of the corporal calling the men for the night +watch came up to them.</p> + +<p>"Bao, first watch. Tran, second watch. Vinh +and Pâa, the watch over the sheds of the elephants +and oxen...."</p> + +<p>Pierre, facing the priest, asked:</p> + +<p>"You know something about their affair?"</p> + +<p>Fingering his beard the missionary replied:</p> + +<p>"I know nothing ... nothing ... except that +we live in the middle of a people unknown, who +hate us and flee us, and whose invisible spies watch +around us—around your Post as around my Mission—spying +on our gestures, watching our comings +in and our goings out and our slightest +actions."</p> + +<p>With a movement of his head Pierre signified +his doubt.</p> + +<p>"Are you certain of all that?" he queried.</p> + +<p>The priest thought for a minute, then stretching +his hand towards the sombre mass of the Pou-Kas +standing aloft in front of the fort, he said:</p> + +<p>"Look before you."</p> + +<p>Pierre raised his head. His look traveled over +the scene stretched out in front of him. Above the +dull-colored gullies of the mountain a livid rayless +sun was setting slowly. In the middle of the +mass of foliage carpeting the first slope of the +mountain showed a Moï village, with its conical +thatched huts dotted along a pathway edged with +banana trees and defended by a triple zareba of +brush.</p> + +<p>In the declining daylight this lifeless silent village +seemed to lie asleep.</p> + +<p>The priest began to speak again in a louder voice +as he pointed to the huts:</p> + +<p>"How many inhabitants are there there? Fifty?... +Three hundred?... What do they do? How +do they live? We shall never know!..."</p> + +<p>Pierre continued to watch the two fortresses, +hostile towns, small and difficult of attack, which +stood, as it were, opposite to each other and appeared +to watch each other: here, down on the plain +and on the very bank of the canal the military station; +up there, shadowed by the trees of the forest +the strange native village, the inhabitants of which +no European had ever seen.</p> + +<p>He murmured:</p> + +<p>"They are there, nevertheless. Look!"</p> + +<p>On the mountain side, every instant becoming +less distant, among the huts of the Moï village a +mysterious liveliness seemed indeed to have arisen. +Here and there hearth-fires were lit, and among +their flickering lights human forms could be seen +passing. The breeze, beginning to blow at the +approach of dusk, came lightly over the flanks of +the mountain and flowed towards the narrow valley, +bringing to the Post the lingering sound of a +litany chanted by women's voices.</p> + +<p>"Yes!" said Father Ravennes, "they are there.... +But no more than Redeski and no more than +me, no more than Longères and Dorcel, doubtless, +will you succeed in seeing them or taking them unawares, +as their watchword is definite: as soon as +white men are seen approaching, create a wilderness +around them, disappear...."</p> + +<p>And as Pierre made a vague gesture he said +sharply:</p> + +<p>"The best thing would be for you to have experience +of it yourself: a simple experiment will make +you understand the country better. Perhaps then +you will attach to my advice the importance that +it merits.... Come with me."</p> + +<p>The priest strode along swiftly. Before the +guardhouse the sentinel saluted him without his +taking the slightest notice. He cleared the gateway +with a vigorous stride. In his hurry he had +forgotten to take his hat and his hair, gray, and +standing out in tangled masses, hung round his +face. He threw it back with a characteristic shake +of his head. His hand held in a strong clasp the +heavy walking stick from which he was never +separated.</p> + +<p>Pierre caught up to him. Side by side they +mingled with the shadows of the valley through +which a narrow footpath wound. Before them, +shouldering upwards into the red sky was the +formidable mass of the distant Pou-Kas. From +the village the monotonous chant of the women +continued to flow downward to the plain. They +reached the first spurs of the mountain. The path +disappeared: to the tall grass there had succeeded +a denser, heavier vegetation of trees and bushes.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Pierre stood still.</p> + +<p>"Listen!" whispered the priest.</p> + +<p>Arrested in their progress they leaned forward +and listened with all their ears. The unknown +singers had suddenly stopped their mournful song. +There was a short interval, and then the heavy +sound of a gong spread itself abroad in the forest +carried far and near by the echoes of the mountain. +Then everything became inexplicably silent, +and the forest appeared more vast, more threatening. +From the sky of mauve and pink, night +was about to fall; and under the final caresses of +the sun the forest prepared to receive it with a vast +immobility of silence and stillness. The missionary +drew himself up again.</p> + +<p>"Let us go on," said he.</p> + +<p>They set themselves to continue their climb. +With eyes alert they slid from tree to tree up +towards the mysterious forest, the threshold of +which like a dark and living wall was stretched +out above them. From time to time the bark of a +wolfhound mixed with the clucking of a fowl, +without it being possible to say whether it came +upwards from the fort or downwards from the +village.</p> + +<p>Finally they penetrated the real forest. Its +bluish-green heavy damp shadow fell about them, +the shadow peculiar to the virgin undergrowth +which the rays of the sun never reach and which +seems all the denser and all the colder from its +dark stagnation unbroken by anything or anybody. +Under their feet the soft spongy soil gave and slid.</p> + +<p>And suddenly, after their having climbed a last +ledge walled about with century-old <i>dau</i> trees with +enormous trunks, they found themselves before the +exterior of the village. A narrow path ran forward +between two massive walls of thorny brush +and was blocked by a heavy gate. Without the +least hesitation Father Ravennes dashed into the +outlandish enclosure with Pierre close behind him. +They no longer took any precautions against being +seen. They went swiftly, silently, and with their +attention fixed ahead, following the open runway +before them. They found two other gates similar +to the first one, but lower, and they had to bend to +get through them. Finally they came out in the +middle of the village. In the centre of an open +space, bordered on either side by a row of banana +trees, four long dark huts showed pointed roofs. +In front of each of them a sort of primitive tripod +made of twisted bamboos supported curiously +shaped stones.</p> + +<p>As quickly as possible Lursac and the missionary +made their way forward. Between the shining +trunks of the bananas a few fowls ran off cackling. +From the first hut a hoarse barking arose, and a +mangy wolfhound with its ribs sticking through its +skin dashed out. He made for the two men, ran +round them growling, from time to time throwing +up his pointed muzzle towards the sky and howling.</p> + +<p>They went through the huts rapidly one after +the other, looking carefully at the rough walls and +searching the shadows which clung about the rice-bins +and gathered under the straw roofs blackened +by soot and the smoke of household fires. In one +of these dwellings, consisting of a single room like +all the rest, in the middle of a rectangle of stamped +down earth surrounded by a great family sleeping-bench +a few live coals were just dying, showing +here and there a red spark which was answered by +the light of two other smaller hearth-fires in the +corners of the room set beside the bench on small +sheets of clay. A warm smell of cooked rice hung +heavy in the air. Here and there rags were scattered +about, and under a beam a crossbow still +swung suspended from a peg.</p> + +<p>The priest turned to Pierre.</p> + +<p>"Well! what do you say to that? Is it perfectly +plain? Do you understand now that to make your +way through such a country as this, an ... expedition +is necessary?"</p> + +<p>His voice hesitated and then emphasised the +word "expedition."</p> + +<p>Lursac spoke his thought aloud.</p> + +<p>"How the devil could they have been warned?"</p> + +<p>The priest smiled.</p> + +<p>"Well, what do you make of the gong that +sounded while we were coming up here?... The +system is perfectly simple: they saw us come out +from the Post and begin to mount towards the +village. One of the native braves, while we were +struggling in the middle of the forest, ran here, got +ahead of us, gave three or four bangs on the gong +and every one cleared out!..."</p> + +<p>A feeling of depression came over Pierre.</p> + +<p>"They cleared out, certainly, but how? We +arrived at the entrance to the village a few minutes +after the gong sounded, we should have seen them +if they had come out that way, for at any rate they +are not invisible!..."</p> + +<p>The missionary nodded assent.</p> + +<p>"Perfectly right," said he, "follow me!"</p> + +<p>He led the way to the last <i>cai-nha</i>, and going in, +went to the furthest angle of the room; then, kneeling +down, he slid under the bench and disappeared. +Pierre imitated him. He immediately discovered +in the surface of the wall an opening, carefully cut, +over which a slab of board could be lowered like a +shutter.</p> + +<p>Going forward on his hands and knees he found +himself outside. He then saw running through the +midst of a mass of tangled underbrush a little +footpath blocked by a doorway like those at the +entrance of the village.</p> + +<p>Beside him, Father Ravennes explained.</p> + +<p>"The service entrance! ... but I myself have +my spies too...."</p> + +<p>And as Pierre made a step towards the path he +interrupted himself to shout violently:</p> + +<p>"Don't stir!" at the same time taking him by +the arm and pulling him backwards. Pierre +flinging a rapid look around asked:</p> + +<p>"What's the matter? Is there danger?"</p> + +<p>The missionary shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No good looking at the forest, it isn't what you +think. These animals are too cunning to attack us +from the front. No, it is not around us that the +danger lies, but at our feet!"...</p> + +<p>Flinging down his eyes Pierre examined the soil +carefully. About a yard before him on the other +side of the open gate the path, muddy and covered +with a carpet of dead leaves and crushed grass, +ran with sharp turns between its two walls of +brush. It seemed to him peaceful and familiar, +calling up in his mind the memory of those narrow, +trough-like lanes of Brittany along which he used +to go in his boyhood, picking the blackberries and +the yellow honeysuckle clinging among the brambles +and wild vines.</p> + +<p>He said:</p> + +<p>"I see nothing."</p> + +<p>"Evidently," said the priest. "I also, in my first +experience of them, found nothing suspicious, and +I paid dearly for it!"</p> + +<p>He drew back the edge of his white <i>cai-quan</i>, +showing his right leg which stood out strongly, +grooved with veins and studded with muscles. +With his finger he outlined a sort of long furrow +of dark red which ran down the flesh of the calf. +He explained:</p> + +<p>"An extraordinary piece of good luck got me +out of it with just this slight wound. A few inches +lower and I should have had my tendon cut and +have been permanently lamed ... and then again, +I have never been able to understand why they did +not poison their devilish device, since it is their +habit to do so! Our lives here, more than anywhere +else, are in the hands of Providence...."</p> + +<p>While speaking he made a few steps forward +with great care. Bending over in the opening of +the gate he grubbed with the point of his walking +stick in the mud path and the scattered leaves, +showing solidly bedded in the earth and pointing +obliquely upwards a series of arrows with sharpened +points cut to a fine edge and tipped with a +reddish stain made by successive dippings in +vegetable poison.</p> + +<p>He started back.</p> + +<p>"Look there!" said he, "no boot sole could stand +against that, and no flesh and blood either. A +slight or a deep cut, and the result would be +exactly the same: a few minutes after the accident +a burning in the wounded limb, followed almost +immediately by a general stupor, by faintings and +fever; then after an hour or two of atrocious suffering, +the end,—unavoidable and without any +possible remedy!..."</p> + +<p>He stopped speaking. Bending over towards the +soil he scraped carefully back over the ground +which he had uncovered the scattered leaves and +grass. Pierre said nothing.</p> + +<p>Drawing himself up again the missionary pointed +out a sort of terrace which the forest left uncovered +above them.</p> + +<p>"And there," said he, "in that exact spot begins +what they call 'the Dead Country,' that is to say, +the zone into which no man is allowed to penetrate, +even if he is of the Moï race.... Then again, in +order to reach as quickly as possible the last stage +of Redeski's journey which we know of, it is across +the forbidden country that we must cut. Let us +wait then. If it is necessary we will organise your +troop...."</p> + +<p>Pierre still said nothing. Re-covered with their +carpet of leaves, the arrow heads were no longer +visible. Nevertheless, with his features drawn, his +fists clenched, the young man continued watching +the path with a fixed and savage stare. He was +thinking; and his thoughts, whirling and broken, +took on a bitter and terrible tinge, a feeling of rage +and death.</p> + +<p>There they stood, the two of them, motionless +and wrapped in thought, Pierre with his back +against the dingy wall of the <i>cai-nha</i> and the priest +before him watching him. Around them the dusk +flowed through the forest. The trembling dark +sea of trees became every moment more huge and +more menacing. The clear line of the Pou-Kas +when they raised their eyes to it became lost in a +purple sky already invaded by darkness. And, +through the silence of the world over which the +dark kept watch, there rose only from time to time +the hoarse voice of the wolfhound left alone in the +village and baying at the night.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2> +</div> + +<h3>LOVE IN THE FOREST</h3> + + +<p>The winter season drew along and came near +to its end. From the piled-up accumulation +of clouds which lay on the great group of mountains +the rain pelted with more violence but at +longer intervals each day. Between storms the +clouds rolled away and opened, blown by sudden +winds, leaving in the sky great sparkling blue +deeps through which the rays of the sun flamed +and fell upon the Post. The atmosphere, one +moment dark and thick, and the next suddenly full +of light, was heavy, moist, and charged with +deadly heat.</p> + +<p>Wanda and Pierre since their arrival at the +Post had introduced a certain regularity into their +daily life. The same monotony brought them +together in their difficulties as well as in their +pleasures. Every morning they went over to the +Mission where Father Ravennes gave them a lesson +in Banhar, the rough and primitive dialect of +the natives of the region. In the afternoon they +wandered on horseback all about the station, some +days by themselves and others accompanied by the +missionary. Now and then they climbed up +towards the mountain, making a circuit about the +mysterious village, but always being careful not to +get too deep into the forest. Then, in the evening, +after dinner, on the seats under the veranda at the +Post they talked together, while through the night +rose the thin sound of the flutes with which the +<i>linhs</i> accompanied their homesick chants which +they had brought with them from their country of +Laos.</p> + +<p>And this was the peaceful hour—the hour they +liked best—during which unconsciously both of +them put aside restraint at the call of this mysterious +destiny which had brought them together in +the depths of the forest alone, each with a heart +so ardent and so young.</p> + +<p>Lursac, particularly, fell under the charm of +this camaraderie and enjoyed it to the full, light-heartedly. +But soon with this plain and simple +feeling something more complex, less peaceful also, +had become mingled. Pierre had very soon indeed +found awakening in himself for this strange, wilful +and beautiful girl a tenderness in which admiration, +fear, and weakness were mingled. Then, +spending his days side by side with her, he had +felt an eager love take possession of him little by +little with its hitherto unguessed-at sweetness, +and, finally, flood his whole being with its irresistible +power. Wanda, however, continually bewildered +him. Generally distant or reserved, she +sometimes became childlike and tender. At such +moments she flung constraint to the winds without +any warning: then as suddenly froze again, disconcerting +him by these sudden changes in humor, +by the caprices of a heart whose secret he could +never fathom. So in her presence he remained +hesitant and timid, irritated by his own weakness +and impatience, feeling her difficult to understand, +impossible to follow, with every fibre of his being +in revolt against her instability of temperament +which day by day forced him to put off the avowal +which he had sworn to himself to make.</p> + +<p>On this particular afternoon they were taking +their usual ride.</p> + +<p>Through thick foliage shining with the damp the +path led away, obstructed here and there with +swamps and blocked in places by trunks of uprooted +trees. At their regular, undeviating pace, +the sure-footed ponies followed it, the bridles +hanging on their necks. Around them the great +Lao-ese forest pressed in upon them, vast and deep, +cradling between its enormous upspringing shafts, +which gave it the aspect of a giant cathedral, the +heavy perfume of rotting earth, voluptuous and +unhealthy. Among the bushes and the undergrowth +a bluish-green daylight drifted, uncertain and +deceptive—a sunless daylight, transparent, the +color of green leaves, such as sifts sometimes +through the dusty windows of an old sanctuary +long abandoned and given up to shadows and +forgetfulness....</p> + +<p>Plucking as she went an orchid which hung +from a thorny creeper, Wanda announced:</p> + +<p>"We will stop at the first clearing: I feel +tired...."</p> + +<p>Absorbed in contemplation of her, Pierre gave +no answer. Clothed in her gray tailored suit—the +same that she had worn that night, already so +long past, on which she had paid him that strange +visit at Khône-Sud—she rode before him, and he +with his mind lost in a vague thoughtfulness +watched her. His glance slowly dwelt on the +dainty outline which not even the jolting trot of +the ponies could dishevel, and every detail came +to him with a new joy:—a bit of her neck shining +white in the shadow of the felt hat; the curve of +her shoulders, as the strong and flexible figure +gave gracefully to the motion of the horse; the +supple waist, and the long delicate line of her leg +outlined in red leather, and the fine arch of the +foot strongly planted in the stirrup....</p> + +<p>With her hand lying on the croup of her animal +she turned back towards him. Catching the long +look charged with emotion and admiration with +which he seemed to embrace her, she blushed.</p> + +<p>"Do you hear me, Pierre, I am tired."</p> + +<p>Her voice a little sharp, she spoke louder than +usual.</p> + +<p>He started, and pushed his mount alongside that +of the girl.</p> + +<p>"Certainly," said he, "we will stop as soon as +you wish."</p> + +<p>And he fell again into his dream. At last, +watching him out of the corners of her eyes, she +said:</p> + +<p>"You are not very pleasant this morning. I +suppose you slept badly?"</p> + +<p>He nodded his head.</p> + +<p>"True," said he, "I hardly closed my eyes."</p> + +<p>And as he spoke there came before him the +sleepless night that he had just passed. A troubled +and feverish night, through which he had done +nothing but think long thoughts of Wanda; and +the visions which had obsessed him and kept him +wide awake at his window came back into his mind. +With the sudden beating of his heart there flowed +upon him once more the violent emotion which had +tormented him through the night; and the same +question which had then haunted him faced him +again for solution: Did Wanda love him?</p> + +<p>The uncertainty was no longer to be borne.</p> + +<p>The path, now widening, opened into a clearing. +Wanda jumped down from her horse and Pierre +imitated her. With the bridles over their arms +they made a few steps side by side.</p> + +<p>"Now," thought Pierre, "I will speak to her, I +will tell her...."</p> + +<p>But the girl's voice breaking the silence interrupted +him.</p> + +<p>"A poor harvest!" said she.</p> + +<p>And sitting on a stump overgrown with moss she +spread out before him a few curiously shaped +stones. She repeated:</p> + +<p>"A poor harvest! Father Ravennes will not be +able to congratulate us on that!"</p> + +<p>He stood facing her.</p> + +<p>"You are right," he said sharply. "Since Father +Ravennes showed you his collection of prehistoric +remains there doesn't seem to be anything else that +interests you!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, he made a good convert of me," she said, +smiling. "Here am I, who two months ago didn't +even know there was such a thing as anthropology +or palæontology, now mad about carved flints and +dreaming of nothing but axes and scrapers and +skeletons. But how learned he is on the subject, +and what words he finds to describe his dear prehistoric +man!... I shall never forget his face, +at once horrified and amazed, when I told him that +our ancestors must have been horribly ugly. +'Quaternary man <i>ugly</i>!' cried he, 'Who put that +into your head? Uncivilized, savage, wild, without +doubt!—but <i>ugly</i>? Good Heavens! No! Unless +you find horrible anything that resembles +nature, anything that is strong, powerful and +active! Primitive man? He was certainly a +rough, strong being, with rude health, formidable +muscles, and a splendid lithe body; a primitive +athlete, superb in strength, browned by the sun +and burned by the weather, hardened by privations +and as dangerous to the wild beasts as to his fellows....'" +She remained a moment thoughtful +and then:</p> + +<p>"After all, suppose he was right?"</p> + +<p>Pierre had sat down beside her. With hanging +head he absently handled the stones laid on the +earth before her.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said he, "and for a whole week I have +beaten the forest with you looking for fossils...."</p> + +<p>She turned to him and looked at him:</p> + +<p>"Are you complaining of it?"</p> + +<p>He protested:</p> + +<p>"No.... No...."</p> + +<p>And, suddenly making up his mind, in an uncertain +voice he continued:</p> + +<p>"No ... but today, if you will let me, we will +not talk of prehistoric things, I have something to +tell you...."</p> + +<p>She drew herself lightly away, but still turned +towards him she watched him attentively with her +frank glance.</p> + +<p>He felt his heart beat furiously in little short +feverish throbs.</p> + +<p>"Something to say to you ...," said he, "a confession ... I...."</p> + +<p>Quickly she stretched out her arm and laid her +hand across his lips:</p> + +<p>"I know," she said steadily, "you love me...."</p> + +<p>Pierre, seizing her hand, kissed it passionately.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "you do not know.... It was +back there on the <i>Vien-Thian</i>, when I saw you for +the first time!... You were talking to Captain +Rabaud. Do you remember?... I do not know +why the sound of your voice attracted me, and +when you had refused to take me for a fellow traveler +I felt disappointment and a strange pain ... +and then you came to see me at Khône...."</p> + +<p>She did not withdraw her fingers. With her +head lowered and her eyes half-shut she seemed to +be thinking deeply.</p> + +<p>"I hardly saw you that morning going on shore, +and yet, nevertheless, somehow I knew that you +would not refuse my request," she said.</p> + +<p>"Yes ... and your victory was so easy and so +complete that you must have been surprised at it +yourself!"</p> + +<p>She raised her eyes to his. He noticed the softened +look in them, one which he had never seen +there before. Profoundly moved, he stammered:</p> + +<p>"Wanda ... Wanda ... I love you,—so, so +much. Tell me, you believe me?"</p> + +<p>Her look flowed into his and seemed to search +into the most hidden corners of his heart.</p> + +<p>There was a little silence which she suddenly +broke:</p> + +<p>"Yes," she said simply, "I believe you...."</p> + +<p>He breathed heavily as though freed from some +agony. A wave of joy spread over his face.</p> + +<p>"When your brother comes back I will speak to +him ... you wish me to, do you?"</p> + +<p>She got up and walked towards her horse.</p> + +<p>He followed her.</p> + +<p>"Answer me, Wanda!" he implored, his voice +hoarse with emotion.</p> + +<p>Her foot in the stirrup, she sprang up lightly +and settled herself in the saddle.</p> + +<p>His hand on the neck of her horse and his head +raised in anxiety he repeated:</p> + +<p>"I may?... Tell me!..."</p> + +<p>She bent towards him. Their faces were so +close that the details of her features seemed to +escape him and before his eyes Pierre could only +see two brown eyes wonderfully liquid, the color +of dead leaves, and palpitating with the beating of +the dark lashes.</p> + +<p>His look fell lower and caught sight of the moist +crimson lips like a marvellous fruit.</p> + +<p>A violent spasm of emotion overwhelmed him, +he shut his eyes and shivered at the thought of +those lips laid on his in a kiss.</p> + +<p>At the same time, with his hands moist and his +throat dry, he searched vainly for words, for some +tender phrase to serve as a plea for his love. But +in his feverish brain one single question, the same, +came to the surface like an obsession and for the +third time he asked:</p> + +<p>"Will you let me?"</p> + +<p>She bent a little over him and suddenly taking +his face between her hands she kissed him on the +lips almost savagely while her breath mingled +with his.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she cried, "for I, I love you also."</p> + +<p>And she repeated passionately:</p> + +<p>"I love you!... I love you!..."</p> + +<p>Then flinging herself quickly back from him, +she whipped up her pony, which started off at a +gallop.</p> + +<p>He caught up with her in a few seconds, and then +they descended together the flank of the mountain, +letting their animals go as they liked. Between +the springing shafts of the <i>dau</i> trees, the <i>igieurs</i>, +the <i>trueuls</i>, the path zigzagged, here turning to +go round a bush and there avoiding a mass of +creepers. Side by side they jogged along, as they +went building castles in Spain for the future, and +sketching their lives together according to their +most secret longings.</p> + +<p>Suddenly pulling his signet ring from his ring-finger, +Pierre held it out to the girl.</p> + +<p>"I have no other ring to offer you just now," he +said, "no jewel, no diamond! ... will you wear +this for me meanwhile?"</p> + +<p>She took the ring, slipped it on to her finger and +with her long pale hand raised before her eyes +she asked:</p> + +<p>"Is it very old?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, my great-great-grandfather had it when +he was killed at the battle of Fontenoy. Since then +it has passed from father to eldest son."</p> + +<p>She examined the coat of arms:</p> + +<p>"A lion.... A chevron...."</p> + +<p>"<i>Dexter, argent, a lion sable—Sinister, azure, a +chevron or</i>," he quoted, smiling.</p> + +<p>She repeated the heraldic description slowly.</p> + +<p>"Very well," she said, "I shall know now how to +blazon our arms, and I will keep them faithfully—as +faithfully as my love...."</p> + +<p>And in her turn she smiled, with a look at once +solemn and tender.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2> +</div> + +<h3>AN INTERVIEW WITH A SORCERESS</h3> + + +<p>That afternoon, for a change, the weather was +soft and clement. Side by side, abreast, they +descended towards the plain at the easy-going pace +of their mounts. Between the trees below them +they saw the Moï village, its straw roofs, long and +pointed, piercing the forest like gold arrows, while, +rising from one of the cabins, a thin column of +smoke, straight and blue, stood in the motionless +air.</p> + +<p>Suddenly breaking the silence, the girl asked +him:</p> + +<p>"Don't you think that that village must be one +of the haunts of Jieng?"</p> + +<p>"It is possible, Father Ravennes thinks so, but +he is no more sure of it than we are."</p> + +<p>Wanda flung him a sharp glance.</p> + +<p>"You speak of it as if it did not matter! Doesn't +that interest you in any way? For my part, I +should like to discover the mysterious power that +this woman represents and of which Father Ravennes +obtained proof that night in the forest. And +then perhaps she could tell us something about +what has happened to Michael. Ah! if only I +could catch her."</p> + +<p>Lursac with a shrug of his shoulders signified +lack of interest.</p> + +<p>"What good would that do you? You don't +imagine that she would tell you her secrets?"</p> + +<p>Wanda remained thoughtful.</p> + +<p>"Who knows?" said she, after a moment's +thought. "And, anyway, what should I risk? +She might say nothing or she might tell me things +that weren't true."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Pierre, "certainly, and also perhaps +you might get an unexpected spear-thrust or a +dagger in your back!"</p> + +<p>The young girl made a motion of scorn.</p> + +<p>"She would not dare," said she, "and, besides, +this is a very excellent chance! Let us try it together!"</p> + +<p>"Wanda!" cried Pierre, "Wanda!" He stretched +out his hand to try to hold her back, but on the +word she had pushed forward her horse and was +galloping down the slope.</p> + +<p>He immediately realized that it was too late to +stop her; and he then had only one thought, to +protect her. He whipped up his horse mercilessly.</p> + +<p>They arrived abreast at the entrance to the village. +Pierre recognized the path of brush by +which he and Father Ravennes had a week earlier +penetrated into the settlement.</p> + +<p>Flat down on the neck of his pony he took the +lead of Wanda and passed the three gates one +after the other. At his side he heard the heavy +breathing and the hoof-beats of Wanda's horse +galloping close behind, and when, on coming out +on the village square, he stopped, he found the girl +beside him. He took her by the arm and brought +her to a standstill.</p> + +<p>"For the love of Heaven!" he cried, "let me do +it!"</p> + +<p>Jumping to the ground he ran towards a cabin, +whose wide-open door showed a black rectangle +in the midst of which flickered the flame of a +hearth-fire.</p> + +<p>On the threshold of the single room reeking with +bitter smoke he stood still, searching the shadows +before him. Squatted before a fire of branches +some twenty savages, with long Moï pipes in their +mouths, were silently smoking. A stupor seemed +to hold them all motionless in their places. Seated +on the bench before the semicircle of warriors a +woman had just that instant stopped speaking.</p> + +<p>Pierre, taking no notice of the men, strode towards +her and, by chance remembering the description +which Father Ravennes had given him, +he said, in Banhar:</p> + +<p>"I greet you, O Jieng!"</p> + +<p>Wanda, biting back an exclamation, examined +the sorceress eagerly. Her bent, crouching body +appeared that of a child. Ragged and filthy cotton +drawers, rolled round her waist and descending +below the knee, left in plain sight thin, bony +shoulders, a withered skin creased with wrinkles +and hacked with scars. On the hearth a little log +was burning. In the dancing light the hideous +face of Jieng could be plainly seen; under her gray +hair and narrow forehead showed the bloody marks +of an outlandish tattooed design gashed into the +skin. A single eye was alive, half-closed, dull and +blinking: the other with its bleared, corroded lids +gave the effect of a running abscess. A cut, still +unhealed, disfigured the chin, stretching up towards +the cheek, and, circling the lips, gave to the +toothless mouth, stained with betel-nut, the aspect +of a raw wound slashed across the face.</p> + +<p>Alone in the middle of her dumbfounded people +she remained unmoved. She turned her mutilated +face towards the young folk and regarded them +with her single eye without showing any emotion +whatever.</p> + +<p>"I greet you," she replied.</p> + +<p>She raised her hand, showing on her arm rings +of copper which glistened in the dusk. Pointing +to the door, she said to the men:</p> + +<p>"Go!"</p> + +<p>They got up doubtfully. The fire on the hearth +lit up their thick, bony forms, brought out their +strong arms and thighs and revealed their red +bodies in which the supple, powerful muscles rippled +under the skin. Pierre noted that they were +equipped for war, their faces painted white, hatchets +on their shoulders, curved daggers stuck into +the belts of their loin-cloths and their long hair +plaited up into knots, while collars of animals' +teeth rattled round their necks, and their ankles +and knees were ornamented with copper rings. Already +they were in the act of taking down their +bows and quivers that hung on the wall.</p> + +<p>But the young man, with a brusque gesture, +signed to them to stop.</p> + +<p>"No!" he ordered, "no one is to move."</p> + +<p>In her flat level voice Jieng asked:</p> + +<p>"Why do you want them?"</p> + +<p>And as he hesitated she looked straight into his +face.</p> + +<p>"Those who sit by our hearth, however they came +there," said she in the same calm indifferent tone, +"have nothing to fear. Were you not aware of +that?"</p> + +<p>And once more pointing to the door, she repeated:</p> + +<p>"Go!"</p> + +<p>One by one they filed out without Pierre attempting +to prevent them. On the threshold each stood +still for a moment and bowed towards the <i>Bo Jaou</i>. +The salute revealed a wild and haughty servility, +a sort of fanaticism mixed with fear and suppressed +rage. Their supple, gliding walk, as of animals in +captivity, at once crafty, obedient and ready for +revolt, suggested the idea of wild animals which +give way before the tamer, crouching, bent double, +kept down by fear, but nevertheless, always waiting +and ready to give a deadly blow of the paw.</p> + +<p>The last of them, a great big fellow with massive +shoulders and thick hands, cast on the young man +a look of hate so heavy, so threatening, that the +latter felt it cover him almost like something tangible. +They looked each other up and down for +a second, and then, when the warrior disappeared, +Lursac turned back to the sorceress. Her legs +folded under her, her body rigid and her hands +flat upon her withered thighs, she continued to preserve +her attitude of a Buddhist idol and her expressionless +face of a statue. She pretended to +ignore the presence of the young man, just as she +did Wanda sitting beside her on the bench, and +this indifference, at once haughty and careless, +worried Pierre.</p> + +<p>"This lady," he explained, pointing to Wanda, +"wanted to see you."</p> + +<p>The sorceress turned her head slightly and, with +a glance, she examined Wanda:</p> + +<p>"She is beautiful," she said simply.</p> + +<p>The girl smiled.</p> + +<p>"I wanted to know you," said she. "They have +talked to me about you so much."</p> + +<p>Jieng remained unmoved. A short cough shook +her and made her hunch her shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Who, then, talks of an old woman like me?"</p> + +<p>"Everyone," said Wanda.</p> + +<p>And abruptly she challenged her:</p> + +<p>"Do you not reign over this country?"</p> + +<p>A light, immediately veiled, flashed in the dull +eye of the sorceress.</p> + +<p>"How could I?" she asked. "Look at me. Death +is waiting for me. For a long time I have seen him +beckoning to me. The gate is open for me...."</p> + +<p>A second attack of coughing tore her skinny +chest; choking and suffocating, she spat, gasping +and twisted with pain.</p> + +<p>Already Wanda, full of compassion, was beginning +to sympathize with her.</p> + +<p>An exclamation from Pierre, however, turned +the current of her thoughts and reawakened her +curiosity.</p> + +<p>"Look, Wanda, more prehistoric remains."</p> + +<p>She cast a glance at the corner of the cabin at +which he was pointing. Against a partition of +split bamboo, on a large wooden stand, round a +tiny hearth where a few live coals were gradually +dying, flint hammers and axes and some bones +were set out in a semicircle. A skull dominated +them, set upon a block of wood; and the red glow +from the little hearth flecking the ivory of the +bones with red, created two pools of shadows in +the empty eye-sockets.</p> + +<p>Wanda examined the peculiar altar with passionate +interest. Then her attention, up to that +time concentrated on the sorceress, passed to the +entire cabin. On the walls blackened with smoke +she noticed the heads of animals and the skins +of wild beasts; yellow skeletons and tawny furs; +elephants' ears; monkeys' hands, twisted and +brown, showing red palms stretched towards the +bundles of bows and lances.</p> + +<p>Triumphantly, she jerked out:</p> + +<p>"And what is that? This skull and these flint +weapons?"</p> + +<p>The sorceress made an evasive gesture.</p> + +<p>"Yes!" said she, "trifles ... that we find in +... in the mountain...."</p> + +<p>Wanda imperiously demanded particulars:</p> + +<p>"Why do you put them on an altar, as if they +were sacred things?"</p> + +<p>"These ... these are fetiches, ... the fathers +of our fathers did this ... and in our turn +we...."</p> + +<p>The girl recognised the hopelessness of her question. +She took the sorceress by the arm.</p> + +<p>"Don't you know? Who, then, is the high-priestess +of this religion? Aren't <i>you</i>?"</p> + +<p>Jieng parried the question adroitly.</p> + +<p>"We worship everything that seems strange to +us—strange ... yes ... and above us,—a fire, +thunder.... Is that what you mean?"</p> + +<p>She had pulled away her arm, but not quickly +enough to prevent Wanda feeling the shiver which +had shaken it: at the same time, with her single +eye persistently upon him, she watched Pierre +standing in front of her.</p> + +<p>"No," said Wanda, "I am talking of the religion +which everywhere brings together all the Moï +women in mysterious pilgrimages. Where do they +go? And why only the women?"</p> + +<p>The sorceress started. She twisted herself +slightly. Once more her eye was riveted on the +young man. With a sort of tired obstinacy, she repeated:</p> + +<p>"I don't understand. Really, I don't understand...."</p> + +<p>As if crushed, trembling, she began to cough +again.</p> + +<p>A cruel bronchial rattling seemed to choke her: +she groaned, pressing her emaciated sides with her +two hands.</p> + +<p>Pierre shrugged his shoulders angrily.</p> + +<p>"I told you," said he, "that you would not get +anything out of her."</p> + +<p>Wanda rose. A thought had just come into her +mind, while a sentence of Father Ravennes' +sounded in her ears: "A mysterious religion reserved +for women, and of which no man must penetrate +the secret."</p> + +<p>Her look fell in turn on Jieng and Pierre de +Lursac.</p> + +<p>And to herself she murmured:</p> + +<p>"No man ... no man...."</p> + +<p>Aloud she said:</p> + +<p>"You are right. Let us go. Look and see if the +horses are there!"</p> + +<p>Standing in the middle of the hut, she followed +him with her eyes. On the threshold, he turned +back and looked at Jieng for an instant.</p> + +<p>"Poor old woman!" he said, "she can't last very +much longer; in any case, she is nothing to be +afraid of."</p> + +<p>With a doubtful smile on her lips, Wanda remained +silent, but directly he had gone out she +walked resolutely up to the sorceress.</p> + +<p>"Jieng," said she, "have you really nothing to +tell me?"</p> + +<p>The old woman raised her head. Her glance met +that of the young girl—a new glance, intelligent, +acute and deep, which seemed to want to penetrate +the most secret thoughts of the stranger.</p> + +<p>She made no answer.</p> + +<p>"Nothing?" ... insisted Wanda. "Not even +to me who am a woman. To me alone?"</p> + +<p>A flash shone from the eye of the sorceress and +made it glitter strangely. Her entire face seemed +to reflect doubt and hesitation.</p> + +<p>"To you alone?" she said, uncertainly, "to ... +to you, alone?"</p> + +<p>Suddenly her visage became stone and took on +its mask of passive indifference.</p> + +<p>"Your companion is calling for you," she said.</p> + +<p>Through the open door could be heard the sounds +of the approaching horses, and the voice of Pierre:</p> + +<p>"Wanda, are you coming?..."</p> + +<p>The young woman bent over and whispered, +quickly:</p> + +<p>"If I come back alone, two days from now, at +sunset, will you be here?"</p> + +<p>Jieng hung her head, her single eye closed.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," she said simply.</p> + +<p>But a meaning grin flickered over her mouth +and twisted her lips almost imperceptibly.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2> +</div> + +<h3>THE FUGITIVE</h3> + + +<p>Father Ravennes turned to face the congregation. +His joined hands separated:</p> + +<p>"<i>Ite, missa est.</i>..."</p> + +<p>In the cool, dark chapel his gesture of benediction +seemed to spread, bowing the heads of the +worshipers.</p> + +<p>And while the missionary once more facing the +tabernacle recited the closing gospel, "<i>In the beginning +was the Word, and the Word was God</i> ..." the +converts one by one left the chapel.</p> + +<p>Wanda and Lursac came out last. Above them, +the sonorous voice of the bell shed abroad its solemn +rhythmic cadences. Torn, as it were, by long +tremblings, the transparent atmosphere vibrated, +throbbing slowly across the little Christian settlement, +as the warm earth reflected the dazzling light +of the sun and the shadow of the trees and the clear +outline of the buildings stood rigid and heavy +against the glare.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes, coming out in his turn, joined +the young folk who were waiting for him before +the door of the chapel.</p> + +<p>Wanda immediately took his arm.</p> + +<p>"Your courier has got back from Post 28, I hear. +Now what?"</p> + +<p>They were walking across the court towards +the priest's house. The bell had ceased to sound. +A vast silence, soft and peaceful, once more covered +everything.</p> + +<p>The missionary, saying nothing, made a slight +movement with his head. Wanda noticed his air +of constraint.</p> + +<p>"There is no news, I suppose?"</p> + +<p>Her trembling voice, slightly hoarse and heavy +with anxiety, moved the priest. He made no direct +answer, avoiding her question with strategy:</p> + +<p>"They believe, back there, that Redeski must +have turned off towards the west in order to strike +for the Post by the southern route. The idea is +not unlikely; it even seems to fit in very well with +the information which I got from the last of the +messengers I sent to enquire in that neighborhood...."</p> + +<p>Pierre watched him carefully, trying to read in +his expression the whole truth of which his words +suggested only a small portion. He caught the +swift, imperceptible sign that the priest flung him. +His uneasiness grew. He understood that the missionary +considered the situation grave, and that +under his apparent calm was concealed real anxiety.</p> + +<p>"Think of it, Father Ravennes, it is now nearly +three weeks since Michael ought to have been back +among us," said Wanda. "We must decide something, +do something, we cannot go on like this in +uncertainty...."</p> + +<p>The missionary flung a glance sideways towards +the mountain.</p> + +<p>"I know someone," said he, "who could clear up +our doubt, if only we could get at her and hold +her!"</p> + +<p>Pierre, who had followed his glance, immediately +guessed.</p> + +<p>"Jieng!" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Jieng? But we saw her the day before yesterday," +said Wanda.</p> + +<p>The missionary stopped abruptly:</p> + +<p>"You caught sight of Jieng?" he asked curtly. +"Where, and when?"</p> + +<p>"No," said she, "not caught sight of her, but +actually saw her. I even talked to her, the day +before yesterday, in her village in the midst of her +warriors."</p> + +<p>Astounded, the priest murmured:</p> + +<p>"It was madness to dare to do that all by yourself."</p> + +<p>The girl, between her half-closed lids, shot a +curious look at him.</p> + +<p>"Pierre was with me," she said simply.</p> + +<p>Then, relating her arrival at the village, she described +the assembly of men, sketched the portrait +of the old woman in agony upon her bench, pictured +the hut with its walls hung with skins of wild +beasts and furs, and finally portrayed the strange +altar in its corner dedicated to prehistoric arms +and surmounted with its human skull.</p> + +<p>The missionary became excited:</p> + +<p>"A skull!" said he, "a skull? Did you examine +it?"</p> + +<p>"We didn't think of that," said Lursac, "we +were too much interested in trying to make Jieng +talk. You see, we had more or less the same idea +as you."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes started forward:</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said he, excitedly, "did you manage it?"</p> + +<p>Wanda answered him:</p> + +<p>"No. And in any case she is by no means the +imperious and tyrannizing priestess we have imagined +her, but a very old woman, exhausted, dying."</p> + +<p>"Just that," agreed Lursac, "an old beggar whom +they no doubt show respect to because of her age." +And he gave a short laugh. "When I think that +we took her for this mysterious and maleficent +power which holds the countryside in terror! Ah! +What an idea!..."</p> + +<p>The missionary remained silent.</p> + +<p>They had resumed their walk. Before the house +where the converts lived in common they stopped +for an instant. Sheltered under the floor of the +hut, to which the piles which supported it gave +the air of a huge pigeon-cote, women were grinding +rice in a mortar and the heavy sound of the +pestle kept time with the chant with which they +lightened their labor. About them a group of +youngsters, crouched in a circle, were playing at +knuckle-bones. As the missionary came up, they +stopped their game and ran to meet him. Hanging +on to his tunic with their heads raised towards +him, they surrounded him. Their thin faces, unused +to smiling, were spread with joyous grins.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes tapped them softly on the +head.</p> + +<p>"Good morning, children!" said he.</p> + +<p>His voice, usually piercing and imperious, became +caressing. He took one of the youngsters +and held him up.</p> + +<p>"It's nicer here than in the forest, eh! little +scamp?" said he, tenderly.</p> + +<p>The child laughed as he swung his legs happily, +stretching out his hands and plunging them into +the missionary's gray beard. His eyes lighted up +with kindness, the priest smiled on him; then putting +him on the ground he cried:</p> + +<p>"Attention! Who wants to win a piece of +sugar?"</p> + +<p>Immediately the court resounded with the children's +cries.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes bent his long back.</p> + +<p>"Now, listen," he explained, "do you see this +key?"</p> + +<p>And at the same time taking from his girdle the +key of the chapel, he flung it in front of him. It +flew up sideways, fell, bounced, and came to rest +finally close to the gate, some thirty yards away.</p> + +<p>"The one that brings me that will have the reward."</p> + +<p>Already, the children were starting to dash after +it....</p> + +<p>The priest stopped them.</p> + +<p>"Gently! ... gently!... Little ones in front, +now ... the big ones here.... Good. Everybody +ready? Now.... Go!..."</p> + +<p>Shouting and pushing, the tiny troop rushed +off. Wanda followed them with her eyes.</p> + +<p>"How pretty they are!" she cried.</p> + +<p>Across the court, blazing with light, the little +naked bodies, clad only with loin-cloths, shone +agile and supple in the sun.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Father Ravennes, "true, they are +beautiful! With all the grace and all the bubbling +joy of childhood. And it is of them that I am +thinking when I pardon their parents all their deceits +and all their weaknesses. Poor little mites!... +Who would have the courage to throw them +back into the moral misery and the physical degeneracy +of the forest? Yes, ... my real work +is there, and this strength and health that I have +brought into being around me for the little ones, +for...."</p> + +<p>Sharp cries interrupted him. Their dash suddenly +cut short, the children had come to a full +stop several yards from their goal. In a group +before the gate, they gesticulated. One of them +made a few steps, bent over, and then quickly ran +back and immediately with a single impulse the +whole band rushed back to the priest.</p> + +<p>They encircled him, out of breath, crying:</p> + +<p>"Ah! ... a woman ... a dead woman!"</p> + +<p>Lursac caught one of them by the arm.</p> + +<p>"What? What are you telling us? A woman!... +Where?"</p> + +<p>"There before the gate ... dead, dead...."</p> + +<p>Wanda and the missionary hurried off. Pierre +came up with them before the heavy entrance gate, +now blocked by a doubled-up body with the legs +bent under it and the arms stretched wide.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes, on his knees, lifted the head +gently. Between the tangled locks of hair a woman's +face was visible, covered with dust, as with +a red mask, her eyes closed and lips bloodless. +From a wound on the forehead, near the temple, +a narrow streak of blood trickled round the corner +of the eye, down the cheek and chin, towards the +throat. She was almost naked, only the loins and +the upper part of the thighs being covered with a +wide kilt of brilliant-colored cloth.</p> + +<p>The missionary, seeing it, remarked:</p> + +<p>"A wild Stieng.<a id="FNanchor_9_9" href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> It is the only tribe whose +women do not wear a tunic. But how the devil +did she get here?"</p> + +<p>"Dead?" asked Wanda.</p> + +<p>"No. In a faint. We'll try and bring her to."</p> + +<p>He signed to Lursac and to one of his converts:</p> + +<p>"Please bring her to my house: I'll go and get +what's necessary."</p> + +<p>The faithful who had run up were crowding +round in order to see better. The missionary +waved them away with a gesture. Lursac and the +man took the body and lifted it; they crossed the +court again and climbed up to the priest's house +and took their burden into "the Cave." Stretched +out on the bench, the woman was seen to be tall +and thin, very young, her chest furrowed with +scratches and her legs stained with black mud.</p> + +<p>Wanda had dropped to her knees at her side. +With her handkerchief she stanched the blood, +which was trickling from the temple down to the +lips. The woman gave a slight shiver, her chin +trembled, her fingers contracted and a gentle moan +came from her throat.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes bent over her and bathed her +forehead. The moaning ceased; a long groan, +broken and gasping, followed which fretted the +silence of the room with hoarse sound.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Wanda, "listen, she is trying to +talk."</p> + +<p>They gathered round her, bending over, the better +to catch her fragmentary and uncertain words.</p> + +<p>"No ... no ... not to the temple.... +Thanks! Drink ... drink!..."</p> + +<p>Wanda moistened her lips and dropped between +the clenched teeth a few drops of alcohol.</p> + +<p>The voice begged:</p> + +<p>"More! ... more!..."</p> + +<p>A short silence followed, during which, with her +face relaxed she eagerly swallowed a little water +flavored with rum.</p> + +<p>Then she opened her eyes. Her glance wandered +around her, vague and anxious, then meeting the +face of Father Ravennes it fixed itself. In the +depths of her dark eyes a light came and went, +grew, and slowly took on the appearance of intelligence +and life.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, she pulled herself up:</p> + +<p>"Father! ... Father! ... save me! They +want to take me away to the mountain ... they +want to take me ... they are coming...."</p> + +<p>And, her face distorted by fear, she went off into +delirium.</p> + +<p>"The Bo-Jaous.... There they are, waiting +for me.... Look.... Look.... their hands +are making signs to me and their faces are grinning +at me...."</p> + +<p>Then, with her arms stretched out towards the +bay, opening to the plains, she shrieked:</p> + +<p>"There ... there ... see Jieng, coming to +fetch me for tonight ... tonight ... the pilgrimage +of the sixth month!"</p> + +<p>With her clenched fingers she had seized the +tunic of the missionary, who was trying to calm +her; panting, mad with terror, her bloodshot eyes +fixed on the sunlit square, she clutched the black +cloth.</p> + +<p>"No ... no ... I will not go! You can try +and take me, I won't go!... Off with you! Off +with you! or I will kill you with my nails ... +with my teeth.... Not me ... not me.... +You already have the white officer—the sahib with +the two stripes."</p> + +<p>Wanda, flinging herself on the woman, shook +her wildly:</p> + +<p>"The white officer? What white officer? Speak +... speak...."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes and Lursac looked at each +other, their faces suddenly pale. The missionary, +pulling the young woman away, leant over the +Stieng. He took her hands and looked into her +eyes. The gaze of the savage meeting that of the +priest became fixed; her lids fluttered. The priest +bent still closer to her, bringing his face down +till it almost touched that of the girl. They remained +thus for a moment.</p> + +<p>In a calm decided tone the missionary asked:</p> + +<p>"Do you mean the sahib with two stripes? Is +it the one who was here, and who set out towards +the north three months ago?"</p> + +<p>The woman started and shivered. Her lips moved, +but she remained silent. The look of the priest +became more insistent. With all his will power +concentrated, he dominated her.</p> + +<p>"Speak!" he said. "Is it he?"</p> + +<p>She attempted to answer. The effort she made +convulsed her face: deep vertical wrinkles came in +her forehead; but she was unable to speak. She +simply made an affirmative sign.</p> + +<p>Wanda cried:</p> + +<p>"Michael!"</p> + +<p>"Be quiet!" said the priest. "Let me manage +this!"</p> + +<p>He had not let his eyes wander for an instant +from those of the woman.</p> + +<p>"And it was the sorceresses who took him prisoner? +Yes, very well. A long time ago? Two +weeks—less? Yes! You know where they have +taken him to? No? You are sure you don't +know?"</p> + +<p>The woman twisted herself in agony and shook +her head several times. And as the missionary +drew back and let go her hand, she started up from +her couch with a bound, dashing into the middle of +the room, where, erect, with a red foam on her +lips, she seemed to be struggling with some invisible +presence. She gasped:</p> + +<p>"There! ... there! ... Jieng! She has come +back again ... she ... she's taking me! ... she's +taking me away! No! ... no! ... I +won't go!"</p> + +<p>She made several steps as if fighting against the +vision which had once more got her in its power, +and her voice rose to a shriek as she called:</p> + +<p>"Father ... Father...."</p> + +<p>Then, suddenly crumpling up, she rolled over on +the mat and lay motionless, her face crushed into +the ground and the right arm stretched out, while +she continued to mutter in a hoarse whisper:</p> + +<p>"Jieng! ... Jieng!..."</p> + +<p>The missionary and Lursac, who had run to her +immediately, picked her up and laid her back on +the bench.</p> + +<p>Standing motionless at her side, Wanda watched +her.</p> + +<p>"Jieng!... Always Jieng!..." she murmured +meaningly.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes twisted his beard and flung a +glance at Lursac.</p> + +<p>"Do you remember," said he, sarcastically, "what +you said to me hardly an hour ago: 'When I think +that we took her for this mysterious and maleficent +power which holds the countryside in terror. +Ah! what an idea!'"</p> + +<p>Lursac and Wanda turned aside their heads.</p> + +<p>"However," said Lursac, "we saw her just the +same, bent with age and in agony...."</p> + +<p>"In agony?" quoted the missionary, "are you so +certain of that? But that is not the question; we +must get to work preparing the expedition at +once."</p> + +<p>Turning to the young man, Wanda begged:</p> + +<p>"Yes. Start at once ... immediately, Pierre. +Tomorrow go to help him! Set him free!"</p> + +<p>The missionary did not let her continue.</p> + +<p>"Tomorrow? No chance of that!... It will +take at least from eight to ten days to get together +the necessary provisions, supplies, prepare the baggage +and organize the escort...."</p> + +<p>The girl cried out:</p> + +<p>"But between this time and that they will have +killed him, tortured him!"</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I think not," said he. "This is war beginning. +For the third time the people of the forest, led by +their sorceresses, have made up their minds to arrest +the advance of the white man, to push back +the conquerors whose presence annoys them and +whose knowledge perhaps renders them uncomfortable. +Redeski has been taken as a hostage...."</p> + +<p>Wanda, lifting towards him a face tortured +with fear, repeated:</p> + +<p>"They will kill him ... kill him.... You +must start at once!"</p> + +<p>The priest looked at her almost coldly.</p> + +<p>"Above everything," he said, "we must succeed +in our attempt and for that it will be necessary +to make plans and act with prudence...."</p> + +<p>Pierre interrupted with a violent gesture:</p> + +<p>"Come! come!" he complained, "plans and prudence! +That is doing too much honor to this mob +of thieves and bandits! I intend simply to follow +Redeski by his tracks, and every time that I meet +this rabble I shall fall upon them suddenly and +sweep them aside with our rifles and revolvers."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes shook his head thoughtfully:</p> + +<p>"That would be simply inviting failure! What +is the good of deceiving ourselves? We are face +to face with a religious organization whose full +power, I am afraid, we thoroughly underestimate +and whose aims we are entirely ignorant of; but +there is no doubt that its innumerable ramifications +cover the whole of Laos in a formidable network. +Think the matter over. To deliver Redeski +would be a matter of force and boldness, but simple +enough, if it were not for that. But as it is, +you will be obliged to penetrate to the heart of this +forbidden region against the will of this unknown +organization, and in doing so it stands to reason +that you will discover its secrets. Think of it +well, Lursac; this is that great mystery which for +centuries has dominated this entire country, and +you are going to challenge it; and its people of +the forest and their sorceresses will rise and fight +against you to defend their beliefs and this power +which they have decided we must at any cost know +nothing of. Now do you understand what you have +undertaken?"</p> + +<p>Silence fell, and lasted some moments. Then +the young girl going towards the bay leant against +the side of it and stayed there motionless. Her +glance, passing by the plain and the canal, fixed +itself on the mountain-chain, towering above which +the crest of the Pou-Kas traced a clear line against +the sky.</p> + +<p>"So," said she without turning round, "Pierre +will not be able to start before eight or ten days? +I...."</p> + +<p>She broke off.</p> + +<p>"Not earlier than that," said the priest, "you...?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing, ..." said she.</p> + +<p>But her eyes continued to search the distant +flank of the mountain and to look for the village +where she had met Jieng two evenings ago. Thinking +of the rendezvous which she had arranged for +this very evening, she brusquely asked:</p> + +<p>"What time is it?"</p> + +<p>"Six o'clock," said Pierre.</p> + +<p>The girl turned towards the two men.</p> + +<p>"Au revoir," said she, "I feel very tired!" And +she made as if to go.</p> + +<p>"I'll go with you," said Pierre.</p> + +<p>She stopped in the doorway.</p> + +<p>"No," said she, "you must discuss the details of +your expedition with Father Ravennes ... your +line of march."</p> + +<p>He agreed:</p> + +<p>"You are right. I'll rejoin you in about two +hours."</p> + +<p>She repeated slowly, as if making a calculation:</p> + +<p>"Two hours. Very well...."</p> + +<p>She looked at him with a troubled expression, +but her voice was perfectly firm.</p> + +<p>"In two hours," said she. "All right, I shall +expect you."</p> + +<p>And she went out quickly.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2> +</div> + +<h3>A DESPERATE ADVENTURE</h3> + + +<p>In the village square, along which the banana +trees threw their shadows in a regular pattern, +Wanda stopped. Looking round her, she examined +the village. Behind their mud walls the +cabins appeared silent and lifeless ... the quiet +wrapped them round and seemed to stifle them +with its great weight. Wanda stood in doubt. +From these huts carefully closed and shuttered +and about which the dusk was already creeping, +from this deserted square, from all this silence and +this stillness of people and things she drew a peculiar +impression of doubt and hostility.</p> + +<p>In spite of herself, the feeling possessed Wanda. +She stood motionless, unable to make up her mind. +For a moment she hesitated between the temptation +of keeping the appointment which Jieng, with +her reticent half-finished sentence, had practically +promised her, and the sensation, every moment +more strong, that danger was about her.</p> + +<p>The day slowly faded. Driven by the breeze, the +last of the clouds were moving overhead in piled +up fleecy rolls which the sun here and there fringed +with scarlet.</p> + +<p>From the forest round about the discordant +cries of a peacock shrilled like a trumpet, and the +sounds of the night began to make themselves +heard: the sweet and tremulous calling of a pair +of wood pigeons, the ringing call of a wild cock, +and the sharp whistlings of the mandarin +birds....</p> + +<p>The image of Michael, imprisoned by the sorceress, +came imploringly to the mind of the young +girl.</p> + +<p>Immediately making a decision, she walked +straight to the hut of the priestess. As she came +near it, the door opened and Jieng appeared. The +crimson light of the flame from the hearth at the +back of the cabin showed her in clear silhouette. +Watchfully, she stood regarding the young girl. +Wanda greeted her.</p> + +<p>"You see, Jieng, I am punctual."</p> + +<p>She spoke in Banhar, slowly, and picking her +words.</p> + +<p>The sorceress bent her head slightly.</p> + +<p>"I expected you," she said, simply; and she drew +aside to let the stranger enter.</p> + +<p>Keeping their eyes on each other, they sat down +on the bench side by side....</p> + +<p>There was silence for several seconds. Then, +resolutely, Wanda began the contest.</p> + +<p>"I have come alone," said she, "alone, as I said +I would."</p> + +<p>Jieng looked up.</p> + +<p>"So I see," said she.</p> + +<p>And putting aside all the ambiguity and roundabout +phrases of the native tongue, she asked:</p> + +<p>"What do you want to know?"</p> + +<p>The directness of the question surprised Wanda, +bewildered her. She remained silent; and it was +the sorceress who continued:</p> + +<p>"Was it that that astonished you?"</p> + +<p>And stretching out her hand she pointed to the +altar with its prehistoric arms, its bones and its +shining skull.</p> + +<p>"Yes, that," said Wanda quickly, "and also the +pilgrimage of the women every season...."</p> + +<p>She stopped speaking, feeling that the moment +had not yet come to reveal the principal object of +her visit.</p> + +<p>With a sidelong glance, Jieng watched her.</p> + +<p>"That only?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Wanda. "Where do they go, and +why do they have these meetings?"</p> + +<p>Jieng broke into a fit of coughing.</p> + +<p>"They go to pray," said she finally, "to the gods +who protect husbands and mothers."</p> + +<p>She spoke quickly, without hesitation, in a clear +voice.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Wanda, "and these prayers, where do +they take place? In a temple?"</p> + +<p>Her voice, although she was still in command of +it, trembled slightly as the thought came to her +that it was towards this unknown place of pilgrimage +that they must have taken Michael.</p> + +<p>The sorceress shrugged her shoulders.</p> + +<p>"What does that matter to you?" she asked. +"Here, there or everywhere are the altars of our +gods, of the guardian spirits of those in whose +veins runs the blue blood of the Moïs, the free savages +who live in the mountains among the inhabitants +of the forest, and whom nobody has ever +been able to enslave.... Nobody ... neither +the Annamese nor the Lao-ese nor the Siamese +... and not even you others, you white folks, in +spite of all your efforts!"</p> + +<p>While speaking, she had risen. With her figure +supple, her chest thrown out, her gestures full of +life, she seemed a new and different being from +the suffering old woman whom Wanda remembered +and of whom nothing seemed to remain except +the face wasted with wounds and the shoulders +seamed with scars.</p> + +<p>"Indeed," cried she, "what has it got to do with +you? Our gods belong to us as yours belong to +you. Who among us tries to find out the mysteries +of your religion?"</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said Wanda, "some of them do! And +Father Ravennes...."</p> + +<p>Spitting on the ground with disgust, Jieng broke +in:</p> + +<p>"Traitors," said she, "renegades! They shall +die!..."</p> + +<p>She stared the young girl in the face and grinned +fiendishly.</p> + +<p>"Do you see? I am speaking frankly. I am telling +you everything, even at the risk...."</p> + +<p>It was Wanda's turn to interrupt.</p> + +<p>"Then," said she without any change of expression, +"since you are telling me everything, tell me +what they have done with the lieutenant who was +in command of the Post."</p> + +<p>Jieng remained unmoved. She neither answered +the question nor took the trouble to make any denials.</p> + +<p>"He is in the hands of the gods," she said simply.</p> + +<p>The young girl had a feeling of foreboding.</p> + +<p>"By what right ..." she began.</p> + +<p>The sorceress, resuming her seat, stopped her.</p> + +<p>"By what right did he penetrate into the Dead +Country, into the forest where no man, not even +if he is of our own blood, dare enter?"</p> + +<p>Without taking any notice of the interruption, +the young girl went on:</p> + +<p>"He is alive, is he not?... You ... you have +not...."</p> + +<p>Jieng smiled ironically.</p> + +<p>"How does this stranger interest you?" she +asked.</p> + +<p>Wanda, seizing the priestess by the wrists, +clutched convulsively.</p> + +<p>"He is my brother," she groaned. "Where have +you taken him? Is he alive? I must know. Do +you hear? Either willing or unwilling, you shall +tell me...."</p> + +<p>With a sudden shake, the sorceress got free. She +took a few steps about the hut, and came up to the +young girl again. With her face twisted by an +evil grin, she said:</p> + +<p>"Do you want to know? Do you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes!" cried Wanda.</p> + +<p>And she plunged her fingers into the pockets of +her jacket. Coins jingled, and she withdrew her +hands full of money which she threw on the bench. +The money rolled in all directions on the dark +wood, scattering sparks of light.</p> + +<p>"I will give you all that.... But answer +me...."</p> + +<p>Jieng took not the slightest notice. With her +head drooped in thought, she was considering. +Finally, she looked the young girl straight in the +eyes.</p> + +<p>"I cannot tell you anything, as I have no authority +... but...."</p> + +<p>She held back the young girl, who had flung herself +upon her.</p> + +<p>"But, ... this evening the pilgrimage of the +sixth month takes place."</p> + +<p>"I know.... I know.... What then?"</p> + +<p>The sorceress hesitated. A flash lit her eye, +which she quickly veiled with lowered lids.</p> + +<p>"I suppose," said she, slowly, "that in order to +learn everything that you want, you would be +willing to mingle with the women who are going +to enter the Dead Country ... and that you +would follow them wherever I lead them...."</p> + +<p>She made a pause; between her half-open lids +a direct glance flashed sideways on the brown eyes +of the young girl.</p> + +<p>"That is only a supposition, you understand!"</p> + +<p>"Then," said Wanda, who had become very pale, +"then suppose that I do follow you...."</p> + +<p>A triumphant smile came and went on the priestess' +face.</p> + +<p>"If you were to do that, I am certain that no +one would prevent you ... no one...."</p> + +<p>The young girl, gripping the sorceress by the +shoulder, laughed:</p> + +<p>"No one, of course not, only there would be just +one more victim on your altar, wouldn't there?"</p> + +<p>Jieng did not flinch.</p> + +<p>"No harm would come to you," she said calmly.</p> + +<p>And as the young girl continued to smile ironically, +she went on:</p> + +<p>"No one would dare to touch you ... I tell you +that for a fact."</p> + +<p>Then repeated sarcastically:</p> + +<p>"A victim!"</p> + +<p>And she shrugged her shoulders.</p> + +<p>"You came, you and that white man, into my village. +My warriors were there. You were alone; +there were a dozen of them. If I had wanted victims, +why should I have waited? Were you not +caught there in my hut just as surely as a wild +beast in a trap?"</p> + +<p>Again she shrugged her shoulders scornfully +and stopped speaking.</p> + +<p>The silence lasted some moments. Wanda +thought of Michael. Her tortured heart was +stronger than her reason; she reflected rapidly:</p> + +<p>"I don't risk much.... I shall tell Pierre +about it, he will follow my track and will catch up +with me. Meanwhile I shall get the better of +Jieng, and when he arrives...."</p> + +<p>She stopped thinking. She saw just the one +thing: here was a chance of reaching Michael, of +seeing him, helping him, perhaps of aiding in his +escape.... She cried:</p> + +<p>"So be it! I will follow the women on their pilgrimage. +What must I do?"</p> + +<p>The priestess remained deep in thought for a +second, then picking up in a businesslike way the +coins scattered under the bench, she hid them in +her belt.</p> + +<p>"You must dress like one of our women."</p> + +<p>And as the young girl began to protest, she +stopped her with a gesture.</p> + +<p>"It must be so, or you cannot come with us," +she said with an air of final authority: "Decide!"</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Wanda. "When do we start?"</p> + +<p>Jieng bent down, rummaged under the bench +and drew out a tunic, a pair of loose trousers and +a turban which she handed to the young girl.</p> + +<p>"Here are your clothes," she said, "in ten minutes +I will come for you."</p> + +<p>And she went off.</p> + +<p>Wanda called after her:</p> + +<p>"Can I leave a message for my friends?"</p> + +<p>The face of the priestess took on a peculiar expression. +Wanda thought she heard her laugh, +but she had not the time to be uneasy about it.</p> + +<p>Jieng assented.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said she, "that will be better."</p> + +<p>And she went out, shutting the door behind her.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>When Wanda emerged from the hut a few minutes +later, the dusk was falling on the mountain. +A torch in her hand, Jieng was waiting for her. +The girl gave her the leaf that she had torn out of +her notebook.</p> + +<p>"Here is a letter for Father Ravennes."</p> + +<p>"He shall have it tonight," promised the sorceress.</p> + +<p>And without another word she started off, +Wanda following her. It was warm; into the +stormy looking sky swollen clouds were climbing +heavily. The dark bluish outlines of the mountain +stood out solidly among the shadows that were +beginning to creep over them. On the very tip +of the crest of the Pou-Kas a last ray of sunlight +spread in purplish gold, and the shining wave-like +line of light stretched further and further until +the mountain looked like the body of a great sleeping +monster.</p> + +<p>They went on and on together, both of them silent. +Above them, dull and confusedly in a sort +of scattered murmuring, the noise of human voices +gradually became audible—the subdued hubbub +of a multitude.</p> + +<p>Still they climbed. Little by little the noise became +more definite, and finally developed into a +wild recitative sung by many voices and marked +by the rhythmic bang of gongs and resounding +blows on copper tom-toms.</p> + +<p>It was the procession of the pilgrims, who, before +entering the Dead Country, were invoking +their mysterious gods.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, at a curve in the path, the body of +women could be seen in a large opening. Crouched +in a thin, wide semicircle, and guarded by sorceresses, +there were perhaps a hundred of them. +Around them torches stuck into the ground waved +smoky flames, throwing streaks of red light on +the white-clad backs which were now all bowed in +a simultaneous obeisance: patches of heavy smoke +whirled upward into the dark: the bitter smell of +burning resinous wood drifted slowly into the air: +around them stood the dark wall of the inviolate +forest.</p> + +<p>At an order from Jieng, the women got up and +took their places. They were now silent. Above, +on the mountain which the darkness now hid, a +vast silence seemed to weigh.</p> + +<p>A short incantation, sung in unison by all, a +sharp order, and then the procession got under way +and entered the forest, where it was rapidly swallowed +up in the damp shadows of the trees.</p> + +<p>Left behind by herself, Wanda looked about her. +The abandoned clearing seemed suddenly increased +in size by the darkness which had fallen on it, +now that the torches had been carried away. Before +her, she could feel, vast and threatening, the +Pou-Kas hidden in the blackness. Impulsively, she +turned to look behind her, and far below her, in +the valley, she could pick out the lights of the +Post which twinkled feebly across the darkness. +Her heart shook: thinking of Pierre, she could +imagine his anxiety on account of her absence, and +for a moment her resolution was shaken.</p> + +<p>A wave of tenderness compounded of weakness +and sweetness flowed through her. <i>He</i> was there +in the hollow of the plain, watching for her return!... +These lights which beckoned to her +were those of the lamps that she lighted every evening +while she waited for him! Before her eyes +she saw the little round table in the dining room +where the two of them met every night at dinner-time. +She could actually see the circle of light +thrown by the pink-shaded lamp which broadened +and illuminated the interested face of the young +man as he talked to her. She could even distinguish +his expression and his familiar gestures. +She noticed once again the nervous knack he had +of pulling his light moustache in little jerks. +Above all, there came to her his laugh,—a clear +bantering laugh which drew his lips to one side +and showed a corner of his white teeth. Then, +feeling the gray eyes of the young man full upon +her, she smiled across the night to him. Her head +thrown lightly back, her face forward, she seemed +gently to offer him her lips, instinctively repeating +the gesture which had become habitual, a gesture +in which mingled the lure of a caress and the +flicker of a smile and which always had a strangely +intoxicating effect upon Pierre.</p> + +<p>But quickly shaking off her weakness, she recalled +the image of Michael, whom she was going +to find and whom she would save at whatever cost. +Remembrances of her childhood, in which he was +inextricably mingled, brought to life again different +moments of her past. Her heart, captured +again by the days gone by, was full of him, and +sisterly love once more dominated her.</p> + +<p>Her head erect, with a noble gesture of sweetness +and passion, she opened her arms and closed +them again slowly as if to embrace once more the +love she was leaving down there in the hollow of +the shadow-drowned valley.</p> + +<p>Then with her teeth clenched she turned back, +and hurried to catch up with the troop of women +who were mounting towards the mysterious sanctuary +in the heart of the Dead Country.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2> +</div> + +<h3>THOSE LEFT BEHIND</h3> + + +<p>Night had taken possession of the Post. Over-flowed +by the shadows, the palisades were invisible, +and the buildings ranged on the edge of the +canal formed a single confused mass along the +base of which the gliding water lapped monotonously. +The dreary slopes of the Pou-Kas were +lost in night and the whole world, smothered under +a sky heavy with rain, seemed nothing but a limitless +gulf.</p> + +<p>Leaning on the balustrade of the veranda, +Pierre, who had been back for over an hour, +watched the darkness. In the court, a body of +riflemen and mahouts were working feverishly in +getting ready for the coming expedition. Somewhere +or other the sound of the flute rose gently, +lulling the night.</p> + +<p>Turning back to the dining room, where the boy +was at his work, he asked:</p> + +<p>"What o'clock is it?"</p> + +<p>"The second watch has just struck, sahib."<a id="FNanchor_10_10" href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> + +<p>Pierre strode nervously up and down the veranda. +The silence deepened. Finally, not being +able to stand it, he asked:</p> + +<p>"About how long ago did Mademoiselle go +out?"</p> + +<p>The boy, a rough Méo with thick hands and a +bony face, whom the priest had engaged for the +young people, stopped in the doorway.</p> + +<p>"She came just before they sounded the first +night-watch, and she started out again immediately."</p> + +<p>Pierre stepped up to him quickly.</p> + +<p>"What! She said something, and you didn't tell +me?..."</p> + +<p>The Méo fixed his expressionless eyes on Lursac.</p> + +<p>"The sahib did not...."</p> + +<p>"Idiot!" cried Pierre. "What did she say? Tell +me quickly!"</p> + +<p>Flurried, and his broad forehead wrinkled in a +frown, the other murmured:</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle said, 'If the gentleman asks for +news, you will tell him that I have returned to the +house of the Cross.'"</p> + +<p>Lursac drew himself up abruptly.</p> + +<p>"To the Mission?" said he, in surprise. "How +strange that we didn't cross each other on the +way!"</p> + +<p>He reflected for a moment.</p> + +<p>"What horse did she take?"</p> + +<p>The boy bent his head and looked up at him.</p> + +<p>"She went on foot."</p> + +<p>Pierre remarked his hesitating and uncomfortable +expression.</p> + +<p>"On foot? To go seven miles? What sort of +nonsense are you telling me?"</p> + +<p>He grasped the man by the shoulder and shook +him.</p> + +<p>"You know something! Where has she gone?"</p> + +<p>The Méo opened his large hands and spread out +his arms:</p> + +<p>"I don't know anything, sahib ... I swear. +Only what Mademoiselle told me to tell you and +that she started on foot.... That's all. Yes, +really and truthfully."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Pierre.</p> + +<p>And in spite of himself his voice trembled. Understanding +that he would get nothing more out of +him, he flung the boy from him. A vague distress +had taken possession of him. He went to the balustrade +of the veranda again.</p> + +<p>The flute was now silent. A slant of wind went +whirling into the darkness, a hoarse call sounded +from somewhere.... The minutes crawled +by....</p> + +<p>Anxiously, with his face stretched towards the +forest, Pierre searched the night with his glance. +The noises of the mountain reached him, distinct, +and apparently nearer. The same hoarse cry rose +again on the slope of the mountain and, echoing +back from the river, died away slowly. Then other +cries arose, multiplied and mixed in the depths of +the underwoods. And almost immediately from +one slope to the other of the mountain the people +of the forest awoke and took up the rough discordant +song, the wild song of the free forest. The +coughing of hunting tigers mingled with the snarling +of panthers; the sudden trumpeting of a herd +of elephants crashing through the silence filled +with its sonorous flourishes of sound the shadows +already heavy with the distressed bellowing of a +stag at bay and the screeching cry of a pair of +nocturnal birds of prey wheeling over the plain.</p> + +<p>Thick, heavy clouds had accumulated overhead, +rolling up in billows like a stormy sea. A few +warm, heavy drops fell and drummed on the dry +rustling straw of the hut roofs. Then suddenly, +like a waterfall, the rain beat down in a roar. Lursac +shuddered.</p> + +<p>"No," he murmured to himself, "she is not at +the Mission. However," he at once thought, "she +told the boy that she was going there and I have +never yet known her to say anything that was not +true. Perhaps, as I was late in coming back, she +wanted to know the arrangements we had +made...."</p> + +<p>Buoyed up by this hope, he thought:</p> + +<p>"Yes.... It must be that. But why on foot? +Why?"</p> + +<p>His anxiety suddenly greater, he burst out:</p> + +<p>"I cannot wait any longer, I must know. Whatever +it is, I am going over there."</p> + +<p>Turning round, he cried to the boy:</p> + +<p>"Sao! I am going to the priest's house. If +Mademoiselle comes in while I am gone, send someone +at once to tell me."</p> + +<p>And in a few strides he was down the steps.</p> + +<p>Before the quarters of the riflemen he stopped +for a moment to give orders to the corporal:</p> + +<p>"Have the gate opened and the sampan ready +to cross the canal; I am going to the Mission."</p> + +<p>And he made rapidly towards the stables.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Through the rain which fell continuously the +pony galloped, with his hoofs splashing into the +spongy soil of the plain and the mud squirting up +at every step.</p> + +<p>Regardless of the water which whipped his face +in the squalls, with his eyes intent on piercing the +darkness, Pierre pushed his mount brutally, and +the poor animal was gasping, his breath coming +heavily and his legs laboring, while a bitter smell +of sweat mounted from his skin.</p> + +<p>Then suddenly a blackness still blacker than the +surrounding dark showed where the stockades of +the Mission stood. They took shape, framing the +narrow entrance-gate defended by its heavy door +of solid wood reënforced with beams.</p> + +<p>Down off his horse in an instant, Pierre called +out. Minutes, which seemed appallingly long, +went by. Then the door grated halfway open, and +the young man, violently pushing to one side the +convert who had come to admit him, dashed forward +and ran. He crossed the court, which was +now wrapped in sleep, and strode up the steps +leading to the missionary's cabin. Suddenly, as +he reached the veranda a hope relaxed the tension. +His heart beat more naturally and more calmly. +Through the chinks of the door rays of light filtered +out.</p> + +<p>"She is there: they are still talking," he sighed.</p> + +<p>He grasped the latch, but instantly his agony +returned, for the door opened, and in the doorway, +with a lamp in his hand, stood Father Ravennes. +He was completely dressed, and wrapped in a +waterproof cloak.</p> + +<p>"Who is there?"</p> + +<p>He raised his lamp so that the light fell upon +Pierre and quickly came towards him.</p> + +<p>"Lursac! Great Heavens! What a state you +are in! I was this very minute coming to the +Post.... You know, then?"</p> + +<p>In a hoarse voice, Pierre cried:</p> + +<p>"Wanda? Where is Wanda?"</p> + +<p>The priest looked at him. He saw the tortured +face of the young man, his eyes shining with distress, +his soaked and muddy clothes. His voice +softened:</p> + +<p>"Come in," said he, "come in.... I want to +speak to you."</p> + +<p>He took Pierre by the arm and drew him into +the room. Flinging himself on the only stool, Lursac +drooped his head and closed his eyes.</p> + +<p>The priest had put the lamp on the table. He +came up to Pierre and thoughtfully looked the +young man over.</p> + +<p>A long silence fell while each followed his own +thoughts. Then Pierre, raising his eyes to the +missionary, asked:</p> + +<p>"You ... you have not seen her, have you?"</p> + +<p>His voice trembled and seemed ready to break at +any minute. He stopped.</p> + +<p>The priest looked down on him slowly. Finally, +he shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No, but she has written to me."</p> + +<p>He rummaged in his pocket and stretched out +a leaf of paper to the young man.</p> + +<p>"Here!" he said. "Read it!"</p> + +<p>Pierre sat up suddenly; a spasm passed over his +face. In a voice suddenly changed, he asked:</p> + +<p>"She has written to you?... To <i>you</i>?... +Why?"</p> + +<p>"Read it!" repeated the priest, gently.</p> + +<p>Snatching the letter from the hand of the missionary, +Pierre read:</p> + +<p>"<i>Dear Father: I dare not write to Pierre. I +have seen Jieng.... The pilgrimage of the sixth +month starts this evening for its mysterious meeting +place, the location of which I do not know. +I only know that Michael is alive. I have managed +to join the women who are going and I have not +courage enough to wait for Pierre's expedition. +Anyway, he would have refused to take me! Tell +him; and both of you pardon me the anxiety which +I am going to cause you.... WANDA.</i>"</p> + +<p>Pierre blanched. He cried out:</p> + +<p>"They have enticed her into an ambush ... +she is lost! ... lost!..."</p> + +<p>His heart seemed to break. He raised his drawn +face to the priest.</p> + +<p>"Ah! you don't know; I love her.... I love +her.... We've been engaged for two days ... +a secret engagement ... and I have held her in +my arms, and still upon my lips is the very imprint +of...."</p> + +<p>The missionary took his hands:</p> + +<p>"My poor boy," said he, "I understand your +agony, but nothing is lost. I have sent one of my +men, the one I can trust best, to Jieng's village. +He has orders to pick up Mademoiselle Redeski's +track and to note carefully any signs which may +serve to make our search easy. Wait for him...."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said he, "we are losing time! And +Wanda...."</p> + +<p>The priest leant from the window to listen to the +multiple voices which the silence of the night carried.</p> + +<p>"No," replied he, "we can do nothing before +dawn."</p> + +<p>And he repeated:</p> + +<p>"Let us wait."</p> + +<p>Slowly the minutes drifted away, one by one, +long and mournful. Minutes, hours, a portion of +the night.... Pierre kept no count. He strode +up and down the narrow room. On the mats his +feverish footsteps rustled dryly. From time to +time, tired, with his mind empty, he stood still and +listened. Through the open window the continuous +noise of the rain penetrated into the room and +filled it with an all-pervading whisper in the midst +of which the splashing of a stream of water from +the roof mingled its own special sad and haunting +note. Again he set himself to pacing up and down +between the lowly folding bed and the bare wall, +in the middle of which shone the only ornament +of the chamber, a great ivory crucifix, pale and +suggestive.</p> + +<p>The third night-watch struck, and then the +fourth, and still the time drifted away.</p> + +<p>Rigid, in the same position, his breast supported +by the window ledge, Father Ravennes stood silent +and thoughtful. Finally drawing himself up, +he said:</p> + +<p>"Here he is...."</p> + +<p>Pierre rushed to the door and flung it open.</p> + +<p>"Well?" cried he.</p> + +<p>Muddy, drenched with rain, his features drawn +with fatigue, the man entered, speechless.</p> + +<p>Under his arm he held a parcel which he spread +out on the ground. Clothing unrolled from it and +a woman's boot fell against the foot of the bed.</p> + +<p>Pierre gave a cry.</p> + +<p>"Wanda's clothes!"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the man, "which I found in Jieng's +hut, hidden under the sleeping bench; that's all +I found!"</p> + +<p>He leaned, panting, against the wall.</p> + +<p>"And she? She? ..." asked Pierre.</p> + +<p>"No trace, sahib. After searching all the huts +in the village, nothing.... Then I ran into the +forest, I called, I shouted, I looked...."</p> + +<p>He lifted up his bleeding hands and showed his +body torn with scratches, and repeated:</p> + +<p>"Nothing.... They must have taken her into +the Dead Country."</p> + +<p>The priest looked at him steadily.</p> + +<p>"Listen," said he, slowly, "we are going to start +tomorrow. You and Pâa, you are the only ones in +whom I put my trust, the only ones also who know +the country. You will come with us as guides."</p> + +<p>The man shivered: his face went gray.</p> + +<p>"Men," he whispered, "do not go into the Dead +Country."</p> + +<p>The missionary, taking him sternly by the arm, +fixed his eyes upon the man's.</p> + +<p>"You will come with me," said he, yet more +sternly.</p> + +<p>The savage bowed his head.</p> + +<p>"With you ... very well, Father!"</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes patted his shoulder in a +friendly way:</p> + +<p>"That's right," said he, "I knew it ... good!... +Go and get ready."</p> + +<p>He went back to Pierre.</p> + +<p>"We will save her, Lursac; her and Redeski."</p> + +<p>The young man bent his head despairingly.</p> + +<p>"Remember Odend'hal, Robert, Paris and the +others: Longères ... Dorcel...."</p> + +<p>Heavily he lapsed into silence. Before his eyes +the tragic victims of Indo-China's history rose, one +by one: Odend'hal, enticed into the hut of the Fire +King, the mysterious and all-powerful chief of the +sorcerers, and treacherously beaten to death with +bludgeons and then burnt; Robert, attacked at his +post in broad daylight and assassinated, with twenty-four +wounds in his body; Longères, who had disappeared +in this very place, disappeared without +anyone ever having succeeded in finding out what +had become of him; and, finally, Dorcel, brought +back to Saigon in agony, and who died of an unknown +disease without even having regained consciousness.</p> + +<p>He shuddered. It seemed to him at that moment +that the universal terror which lay upon this whole +region was beating on the Mission, that it found +its way into the room in which the two of them +stood—the only ones of their race—alone in the +middle of the immense Lao-ese forest in which +prowled invisible powers and unknown rulers.</p> + +<p>"We will find her," repeated the missionary insistently.</p> + +<p>Pierre raised his head.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said he, "but how? We are two—two +against a whole people. And then, where have +they taken her? We have no idea whatever! What +shall we do? Search the whole mountain range? +Beat the entire forest?"</p> + +<p>He gave a gesture of despair.</p> + +<p>Motionless, Father Ravennes considered. Suddenly +an idea flashed into his mind. He stepped +up to the young man and with his two hands on +Pierre's shoulders, he spoke:</p> + +<p>"Come, Lursac, pull yourself together. You +must keep your self-control above everything. +We will find your fiancée! Listen: what we have +got to do is to reach this sanctuary to which the +pilgrimages are made."</p> + +<p>His voice sounded calm and solemn. The atmosphere +of anguish which had filled the chamber +seemed put to flight. A feeling of certainty and +tranquil force took its place, relaxing Lursac's +nerves and restoring his balance. Almost calm, he +answered:</p> + +<p>"Yes, but where are we to look for the sanctuary? +Do you know?"</p> + +<p>"No," admitted the missionary, "but that is what +we are going to find out. Come."</p> + +<p>He went out. Almost persuaded, Lursac followed +him. Together they crossed the court +towards the huts of the converts, the pointed roofs +of which could be seen over the dark mass of the +chapel.</p> + +<p>It was no longer raining. From the thatched +roofs, still wet, and from the bending trees the +moisture continued to drip. And under the vast +silence of the heavens, across which the clouds were +still driving in wandering squadrons, there was no +sound heard now but the sharp, distant noise of the +dripping on the earth.</p> + +<p>Before the door of a hut marked with a white +cross the priest stopped and banged on it with his +fist. The wood of the door rattled, and while a +voice from inside began asking questions, he +entered, Lursac following him. He pushed back +the door and lighted a torch. On the sleeping +bench set against the wall a woman was sitting +up, bending forward, half-dressed.</p> + +<p>Pierre seized the arm of the missionary, gripping +it strongly.</p> + +<p>"The wild Stieng woman whom you saved," said +he; "I understand now."</p> + +<p>And he looked at the young woman with anxiety. +Would she know anything, and could she be made +to speak?</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes sat down. With a gentle movement +he took the hands of the woman. She raised +her head. Her face, which the flickering torch +brought into relief with purple shadows, appeared +young and almost pretty, in spite of the short and +flattened nose, and of the small suspicious eyes +deeply sunk under a rounded forehead. The thin, +clearly cut lips trembled, giving to the whole face +an air of knowing intelligence, an appearance +strangely mobile and alive, almost feline.</p> + +<p>The missionary riveted on her his grave, compelling +eyes.</p> + +<p>"Listen," said he. "When I found you this +morning by the gate, dying, tortured with hunger +and thirst, half mad with terror, I didn't ask +whence you came or who you were; I didn't question +you at all. I took you in and took care of you +and protected you without thinking of the hatred +and the vengeance that my action might bring +on me."</p> + +<p>He stopped a moment and looked at her still +harder. He spoke slowly in the Banhar dialect, +while Lursac standing beside him watched the +woman's face for the effect of his words. She +listened to the priest attentively, trying to understand +all his meaning.</p> + +<p>After a moment, looking down, she said simply:</p> + +<p>"I know your goodness, Father!"</p> + +<p>Then with a note of supplication in her voice +she asked:</p> + +<p>"You will keep me with you?"</p> + +<p>The missionary promised:</p> + +<p>"Whatever happens you shall stay here as long +as you wish. But in my turn, today I have need +of your help. Will you give it?"</p> + +<p>"What can I do?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Answer the questions I am going to put to you. +Answer them without evasion and without trickery, +freely and loyally."</p> + +<p>And he repeated sternly the question which she +had avoided a few seconds earlier.</p> + +<p>"Will you?"</p> + +<p>She shut her eyes and bent her head.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said she. "What I know I will tell you +truly."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes sighed heavily: his face relaxed. +He threw a glance sideways at Lursac. +For several moments he did not speak, concentrating +his thoughts; then forcing the young +woman to look at him he asked:</p> + +<p>"It was this evening that the pilgrimage of the +sixth month began, was it not?"</p> + +<p>She shivered, turning away her eyes and slowly +made a sign in the affirmative with her head.</p> + +<p>"Good!" said the priest. "Where was it to start +from?"</p> + +<p>In a very low voice she said:</p> + +<p>"From the third clearing above the village. +From there...."</p> + +<p>"From there?"</p> + +<p>She got up suddenly, a look of distress on her +face and an air of listening.</p> + +<p>"From there?" insisted Father Revenues.</p> + +<p>She stood rigid in the middle of the room.</p> + +<p>"I cannot ... I cannot," she murmured. "If +they knew that I had told you this they would +kill me."</p> + +<p>"Come now," growled the priest, "no pretences, +please. No one will know what you are saying. +We are alone with you.... Speak."</p> + +<p>She broke out wildly.</p> + +<p>"I don't want to die, and they are all round us. +Listen! You can hear them walking, quite close +to us! No, I am not lying. Come, look for yourself."</p> + +<p>As she spoke, she had taken the priest by the +hand and was pulling him towards the door. Violently +she pushed the heavy slab, which slammed +back against the wall. A fresh smell of wet earth +and damp herbage blew into the room. Standing +on the threshold of the hut the missionary shot a +quick glance around him. The dawn was already +on its way. In the clean-washed sky the innumerable +stars were beginning to pale and disappear. +The rising light was slowly putting the dark to +flight; and before the advance of the morning +which trembled on the horizon, the night was thinning +out and melting into a river of shadows in +the middle of which the Mission buildings stood up +with vague, uncertain outlines. Round the angle +of the chapel, close by, a human shadow glided, +fled away and disappeared.</p> + +<p>With her finger the young woman pointed it out +to the priest.</p> + +<p>"You see!" she cried.</p> + +<p>And shutting the door again, she re-seated herself +on the sleeping bench and remained motionless.</p> + +<p>"Ask me anything," she said, "except what I +cannot tell you, the thing that they have forbidden +me to speak."</p> + +<p>Angrily, Lursac demanded:</p> + +<p>"They? What they? Of whom do you speak?"</p> + +<p>She listened to him with eyes full of fear. A +shudder ran through her body.</p> + +<p>"They.... The Red Gods! ..." she whispered.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The two men looked at each other. The flickering +flame of the torch lit up their pale faces twisted +anew with anguish. For the first time the names +of the unknown gods whom the mysterious sorcerers +served had been pronounced, and before +their eyes swam blood-stained visions.</p> + +<p>The torch, burned down to its socket, began to +splutter and a heavy smoke filled the room with +an acrid fog, and suddenly with a last leap of +flame it expired. Cold and livid, the dawn filtered +into the hut.</p> + +<p>Pierre thought of Wanda. Beside him the missionary +repeated feverishly:</p> + +<p>"The Red Gods!... The Red...."</p> + +<p>Shaken with a frightful shudder the young man +looked at him, and once again despair seized him in +its grip.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2> +</div> + +<h3>THE FUGITIVE'S STORY</h3> + + +<p>Shrugging his shoulders, Father Ravennes +took some strides about the hut. Suddenly +stopping before the young woman he took her by +the arm and forced her to stand up.</p> + +<p>"Follow me," said he.</p> + +<p>And he pushed her outside, led her to the chapel +and opened the door.</p> + +<p>"Come in!"</p> + +<p>He pushed her before him, stood aside to let +Pierre pass, and then entering in his turn into the +sanctuary he carefully bolted the heavy door.</p> + +<p>Through the blinds a vague light stole in. The +Stieng woman looked round her with curiosity. +She saw the pale walls with their cheap copies of +the Way of the Cross, each of the colored chromos +framed with a simple casing of black wood. Then +she saw the painted roof of thatch with its confusion +of unsquared beams, and below it, in front +of her, slightly raised on a few shallow steps, the +altar—modest and simple, and on which all the +light of the glowing dawn seemed to concentrate +itself between the groups of candles. In the centre, +dominating the tabernacle, a large Christ on the +Cross twisted his body in agony.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes made the young woman sit +down on the altar steps.</p> + +<p>"You are afraid," said he, "that somebody will +overhear your words, but here no one can hear us. +See for yourself. The chapel is too large for your +voice to be heard outside."</p> + +<p>He raised his hand, pointing to the crucifix +above them. His voice, at once grave and ardent, +continued:</p> + +<p>"And there is our God—the omnipotent and +merciful God of the white people, whose sovereign +power directs the world. We are all in His keeping, +and if I have brought you here into His very +shadow it is that He may protect you and preserve +you. Now if He wills it, you will speak. May His +will be done!..."</p> + +<p>He stopped speaking and closed his eyes. The +heavy silence of expectation bent their heads. The +lips of Father Ravennes moved slowly in words +that were inaudible: he was praying.</p> + +<p>The woman with a sudden shrug of the shoulders +seemed to fling off a burden.</p> + +<p>"I believe you," said she. "I will tell you everything +that I know, everything that happened to +myself. Is that what you wish?"</p> + +<p>The missionary opened his eyes, now animated +by a strange expression of thankfulness and joy.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said he.</p> + +<p>And in a low voice he murmured:</p> + +<p>"Thy goodness be praised, O God!"</p> + +<p>Already the woman was talking.</p> + +<p>"My name is Hmon, of the village of Khon-Ko-Xan, +of the country of the Stiengs, where I am a +free woman among the free people of the forest. +Four years ago my parents married me to the chief +of the village. Our first two years were happy +ones. Then little by little hatred came to us and +took up its abode in our hut. It was because, in +spite of all my prayers and all my sacrifices to the +gods, I had given no child to my husband. Then +one afternoon at the men's council I was named +with a group of other childless wives to take part +in the great pilgrimage which twice a year goes up +into the Dead Country to pray to the Red Gods.</p> + +<p>"There were eight of us women, and three men +fully accoutred for war were to accompany us. +And the very same evening we started on our journey. +The seventh night after our departure, at +the hour of the second watch, we arrived at the +threshold of the Sacred Forest.... At its very +threshold indeed, sahib!..."</p> + +<p>She fell silent as a shudder ran through her. +Father Ravennes took hold of her hand.</p> + +<p>"Continue," said he softly.</p> + +<p>She gave one look at the missionary and then in +little, short, disconnected sentences she continued:</p> + +<p>"The priestesses took charge of the group which +had come up from the entire country. They +arranged us in ranks, and counted us one by one. +Then, having sent off the men, they showed us the +way towards the mountain.</p> + +<p>"After five hours of marching we reached the +clearing, the meeting place. Jieng, the chief sorceress, +was waiting for us there. After a short stop +we took to the track again. Four times the sun, +towards which we were advancing, rose and set, +and at the beginning of the fifth night as the moon +was rising and getting larger and larger, we at +last caught sight of the temple hanging on the +very edge of the crest of the Pou-Kas."</p> + +<p>The missionary grasped Lursac's wrist.</p> + +<p>"The temple ... on the very edge of the crest +of the Pou-Kas," he whispered.</p> + +<p>The woman did not hear him. She continued:</p> + +<p>"When it was perfectly dark they made us enter. +Between the two high centre towers there was a +long gallery two stories high; then a huge interior +court, square, and paved with ancient stones. +Around the whole ran a platform reached by four +wide staircases. Between these stairs against the +wall below the platform were ranged statues of +warriors and priests, of horses and elephants in +war-harness, keeping guard. Between the stones +of the courtyard banyan trees were growing. The +air sang among their branches, but our hearts were +bowed in agony. It was warm. Above our heads, +in the small area of sky that we could see, flowed +the night, the same night which we knew at home. +We had seated ourselves. I heard the creaking of +an insect close by me. In this way an hour passed, +and then from the building opposite to the entrance +gallery of which the walls seemed built right into +the cliff of the Pou-Kas, a chant arose, sahib.</p> + +<p>"At the same moment Jieng appeared and cried:</p> + +<p>"'Those from the village of Dong-Track, in the +land of the Reungaos....'</p> + +<p>"Five women arose and she made them enter the +temple.</p> + +<p>"More time passed, and again Jieng returned +and called out:</p> + +<p>"'Those from the village of the Xieng-Khon in +the land of the Sedangs....'</p> + +<p>"And only three women came forward, who in +their turn penetrated into the sanctuary.</p> + +<p>"From time to time she came and called thus. +And all the women of the Moï, all the wives from +the free clans of the mountain and forest were +taken into the palace of the gods, to whom they +were going to pray that their sterile bodies might +bear fruit.</p> + +<p>"'Those from the village of Khon-Ko-Xan in the +land of the Stiengs.'</p> + +<p>"Our moment had come. I took the lead. When +I reached Jieng, I bowed to the ground humbly, +like the others, and entered. We crossed a long +narrow room with thick walls entirely covered +with carvings. Before us a curving subterranean +passageway led down. Its sweating walls were +lighted by braziers on heavy copper tripods. While +we went forward the chant came nearer. We +walked on for some time. Finally after a sharp +turn we came out into a round room, the floor of +which was hollowed out into a large basin. Eight +sorceresses with torches in their hands were waiting +for us ranged round the sides of the room. +After we had been dipped in the waters of the +basin they took charge of us. First of all they +put on us black tunics and then covered our faces +with sacred masks, the soft moist skin of which +was cut with four openings for the eyes, the +mouth, and the nose. Then escorting us they +opened a door and drew us through. The chant +which had been still going on all this time suddenly +burst louder on our ears, and we understood +that we were in the sanctuary in which was enthroned +the image of the gods we had come to +implore.</p> + +<p>"With my throat grown dry, and trembling to +the tips of my fingers I looked round me. On my +right, an enormous serpent with nine heads supported +a heavy column. A little further, an animal +with the body of a dragon and the head of a +bird appeared to be flapping its wings; and as far +as I could see on both sides other pillars spread +upward towards the roof, invisible in the shadows.... +But I had not time to look about me any +longer; a push forced me forward.</p> + +<p>"We were going on. Under every monster a +sorceress stood with a torch to light our way. +There were some sixty sorceresses on the right and +on the left, while we marched between them. Their +faces slashed with wounds, their eyes fixed in front +of them, they stared at us as we passed. They +made no movement, but sang without stopping. +Now we had come to the foot of the altar. We had +come to the end of the columns, the sanctuary +grew nearer. Before us were three wide semi-circular +recesses, each led up to by three steps; +each recess was hidden by a transparent veil embroidered +with silver under which we had to creep +after we had made obeisance on our faces. When +the last curtain was passed I saw at last the statue +of the god. He was sitting with his legs folded +under him. His swelling chest was covered with +a brown fur, his red body sparkled and his beautiful +face smiled strangely. From his shoulders +hung twelve arms with great open hands, the palms +turned flat towards the earth in a sweeping gesture +of blessing.</p> + +<p>"Then behind us the voice of Jieng ordered:</p> + +<p>"'Go, and each one of you place her head under +one of the hands of the God of wives'</p> + +<p>"We drew near with our heads bowed. I was +on the right, under the fourth hand. Slowly I +drew myself up until my forehead felt the weight +of the cold hard palm. I stammered the words of +the ritual:</p> + +<p>"'O God of barren women, give life to my body!'</p> + +<p>"Beside me seven other voices repeated continuously:</p> + +<p>"'O God of barren women, give life to my body!'</p> + +<p>"On my throbbing temples I felt the metal +fingers which seemed to get heavier and heavier. +A sweet perfume, floating about me, took me by +the throat and rendered me dizzy.</p> + +<p>"I fell, and night flowed into me."</p> + +<p>Again she stopped. Father Ravennes asked:</p> + +<p>"Is that all?..."</p> + +<p>The woman shook her head.</p> + +<p>"No," said she, "or I should not be here. When +I woke up I found myself in the same place lying +on the stone floor. I looked up. Above me the red +hands were still outstretched. Nothing had +changed; except that the sorceresses still standing +at their posts were no longer singing. There was +a great silence, peaceful and satisfying. The voice +of Jieng once more rose:</p> + +<p>"'Go,' said she. 'The Red Gods will lend a +favorable ear to your prayers.'</p> + +<p>"I got up. My head was heavy and a great +feeling of tiredness possessed my whole being. In +the chamber of ablutions I took off my mask and +put on my usual clothes. Outside I found a surprise. +The sun was setting on the horizon. I had +been more than four watches at the feet of the +gods.</p> + +<p>"Ten days afterwards I was back in my village, +and once again the god of happiness took up his +abode in our house. I waited with confidence, +knowing that the gods had worked innumerable +miracles. But a year went by without my hope +being realized. For the second time I returned to +the Dead Country and bent under the image of the +god. Again, eleven months during which anger +and hatred were my portion continually.</p> + +<p>"Three weeks ago, considering me incapable of +giving him a child, my husband called the council +of chiefs together. My case, unique in our clan, +was discussed and I learned that the men's meeting +had decided to make a gift of me to the Red Gods. +The morning after, a sorceress came to talk with +my husband. The same evening she took me away, +after having announced to the clan the capture of +the sahib of the two stripes, who was in command +of the Post here.</p> + +<p>"Fear took possession of me. I became nothing +more than a trembling body without will. Continually +I recalled the laws of the Dead Country, +the laws of the sorceresses. I remembered that +only ugliness is pleasing to the Red Gods, and that +all those who are set aside to serve them must be +tortured and disfigured. I thought of Reung, +whose arms are now only stumps; of Saond, whose +leg, broken and destroyed, drags along behind her +like a hanging rag; and finally of Jieng, with her +dead eye, her cut-about lips and her flayed nose.</p> + +<p>"All the tortures that I would have to undergo +came before me, surrounded me, and seemed to +squeeze my brain. I was almost insane, sahibs, +and one morning at dawn I fled. For ten days I +wandered into the forest, tracked by the priestesses +and pursued by all the clans of the forest; and I +arrived here the very morning of the pilgrimage +of the sixth month, this pilgrimage on which I +was to have been taken to the Dead Country in +order to have been consecrated as a sorceress."</p> + +<p>She turned towards the priest a face in which +there was reflected a shadow of the fear which she +had just recalled, and with a long look at him she +said:</p> + +<p>"They told me you were kind, O Father, and I +came to you. You received me and took care of +me, and my heart—the heart of a free woman of +the forest—will not forget. I have told you everything +that I know. Truly, I have told you everything. +Have I told you what you wanted?"</p> + +<p>And as with a gentle motion of his head the missionary +answered in the affirmative, she added +with a strange cry, pointing to the crucifix:</p> + +<p>"May He guard me, as I know that death is +round about me! But what does it matter? You +have saved me; in my turn I have done you a +service. As for the rest we are in the hands of +the gods."</p> + +<p>The two men had risen.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Father Ravennes, "I know that you +have told me everything, without concealing anything +and without lying, as I asked you. I thank +you. Now go!"</p> + +<p>And as she went Lursac said:</p> + +<p>"We now know what we wanted to. It is +towards the Pou-Kas that we must bend our steps. +The pilgrimage has only about twelve hours' start +of us, and it is composed of women. If we travel +night and day we shall perhaps be able to catch +up with them...."</p> + +<p>The missionary looked at him.</p> + +<p>"Catch up with them? ... but we shall not be +able to make one hour's march towards the Pou-Kas +without their being warned of it. And when +we arrive before the sanctuary either we shall find +it abandoned or we shall have to fling ourselves +against defences thoroughly prepared and against +which all our efforts will be useless. We shall be +lucky indeed if they do not have us massacred on +the way there. No! Will you put your trust in +me?"</p> + +<p>Together they left the chapel. Around them, +under a sky like a blue crystal basin, everything +still slept.</p> + +<p>In the air, growing every moment more beautifully +transparent, the whistling of the blackbirds +quarrelling on the stockades broke the silence.</p> + +<p>"When do we start?" demanded Lursac sharply.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes calculated:</p> + +<p>"Allow one hour for you to get back to the fort +and two hours to make our preparations. Take +only what is indispensable. Twenty days' provisions +per man. We must march swiftly. As few +cases and packages as possible, and no more men +than we really need: the six elephants with their +mahouts to carry our outfit, and fifteen riflemen +with the corporal. Above all, on no account tell +them where we are going."</p> + +<p>He stretched his hands to Pierre. A short grasp +brought them together for an instant, mingled +their emotions and made their hearts beat in +harmony.</p> + +<p>The missionary released his fingers almost roughly.</p> + +<p>"Start, start," said he, "I will join you there in +three hours."</p> + +<p>And while the young man hurried towards the +gate, he made off with great strides in the direction +of his cabin.</p> + +<p>In the middle of the court he stopped suddenly, +wrinkling his brow thoughtfully. From the other +side of the palisade came the sound of the galloping +of Lursac's pony, rapidly fading into the +distance.</p> + +<p>Mechanically the priest listened until he could +no longer hear it, while with raised head he +watched the Pou-Kas of which the distant summit +barred the heavens with a clear horizontal line.</p> + +<p>"There must be some roundabout way, some +path where they do not set a watch!" thought he. +"Why did not I remember to ask about it, for that +is the one we shall have to follow if we do not wish +to be stopped."</p> + +<p>He hesitated a minute, then turning back on his +steps he walked to the hut set aside for Hmon, the +Stieng woman. Through the wide-open door he +saw her lying at the foot of the sleeping bench, her +forehead on the black wood and her arms stretched +out.</p> + +<p>He entered and placed one of his hands on the +uncovered shoulder of the young woman.</p> + +<p>"Hmon," said he, "I have yet this...."</p> + +<p>The words died on his lips. He jerked away his +fingers, disagreeably surprised by the touch of her +cold, rough flesh. He bent over her. Along her +amber-colored neck a thin trickle of blood, almost +coagulated already, came from under the hair, and +making a bend over the left shoulder, lost itself +inside the tunic below.</p> + +<p>"Hmon! Hmon!" he called.</p> + +<p>At the same time, taking the woman's head, he +raised it. The face was gray, marbled with pale +spots; the eyes, half-shut, showing the eyeballs, +sightless and strangely fluid. The thin, discolored +lips, however, seemed to smile at him strangely +from the other side of the Unknown.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes gently let the forehead fall +back, and the body in its black tunic once more +resumed its attitude of supplication and prayer. +Against the dark wood of the sleeping-bench the +long livid hands showed up clearly. The paleness +of the bent neck was emphasized, and suddenly +among the lowest strands of hair at the base of +the skull he saw the head of a large pin, curiously +ornamented with a grinning mask, sticking out, +glittering and ominous.</p> + +<p>The missionary looked at it for a second; then, +taking from his neck the beads, from the end of +which hung his crucifix, he passed it about the +shoulders of Hmon the Stieng, and going down on +his knees, he clasped his hands and prayed.</p> + +<p>Outside, the brisk crow of a cock vibrated, +saluting the warm and golden resurrection of the +day.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2> +</div> + +<h3>INTO THE UNKNOWN</h3> + + +<p>Over the crest of the mountains the sun +showed its edge, and slowly rose. An elephant, +lifting his brown trunk towards it, trumpeted +long and loud. The pink and gray of the daylight +filtered into the sky and drove away the +shadows lying deep in the ravines of the mountain. +The pachyderms chained to their pickets +before the gate of the fort rocked slowly from side +to side.</p> + +<p>Seated on a packing-case Pierre was overseeing +the loading of the baggage. By blows of their +ankuses and with cries and insults the mahouts +made their beasts bend their necks and forced +them to kneel. On the square pack-saddles, +strengthened by thick belts of split bamboo, the +sacks of rice and the packages of provisions were +heaped. Each elephant, after its loading was +finished, with a slow pitching movement raised +itself and took up its place ready for the start. +The mahouts, crouched on their great necks, exchanged +jokes with the Cambodian riflemen camped +around them and to whom the headman, standing +before the emptied packing-cases distributed munitions +and arms: a Gras musket, model of 1874, and +one hundred and fifty cartridges to each man.</p> + +<p>A flock of egrets rising from the bank of the +canal flew across the shining sky. Their sharp +cries made Father Ravennes lift his head. He +watched for a moment their glittering flight in the +direction of the mountain, then he turned to his +two guides:</p> + +<p>"You understand, do you not? We are to cross +the canal and strike towards the east. No one +except you two, Sahib Lursac and myself is to +know the exact object of the expedition."</p> + +<p>The two men made a sign of agreement. Their +long Moï lances in their clenched hands, their loins +swathed in narrow cloth bands, they stretched +their naked bodies, over which the muscles stood +out clearly, and smiled with an animal pleasure in +the growing warmth of the day.</p> + +<p>One of them said:</p> + +<p>"That's understood, Father. For three nights +we are to march across the plain, then on the +morning of the fourth day we are to turn and go +straight towards the Pou-Kas."</p> + +<p>"Yes," agreed Lursac, "that is right. But shall +we have, by that time, got far enough round the +mountain to take it in the rear? Understand me +well: it is absolutely necessary for us to come out +on the other face of the plateau and not before the +temple itself. What we have to do is to surprise +them. To do that there is only one way: to arrive +there by a path which no one has thought of, and +to catch them in the rear. It is above all necessary +that before attacking the Pou-Kas itself we must +have got well round it."</p> + +<p>The man who had already spoken again assured +him:</p> + +<p>"We understand: the three days' march towards +the east will be plenty. But then those people will +see where we are going, and..."</p> + +<p>With his finger he pointed at the riflemen and +the mahouts grouped before the fort.</p> + +<p>Lursac stopped him.</p> + +<p>"Don't worry about them," said he, "I will +undertake to make them march."</p> + +<p>The man looked at him thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it would have been better to tell them, +but you are the master...."</p> + +<p>A ray of sunshine slanting towards the valley +shed an oblique light upon it and illuminated the +fort. The bespattered straw roofs showed their +steep slopes of blazing yellow against the morning +sky.</p> + +<p>Pierre watched contemplatively the familiar +scene now so vividly illuminated by the sunlight. +He thought of his arrival three months earlier. +The missionary dropped his hand upon his +shoulder.</p> + +<p>"The time is come," said he.</p> + +<p>Pierre shivered and signalled to the guides.</p> + +<p>"Start!"</p> + +<p>The two men set out towards the canal and +behind them the caravan stirred into motion.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>They were struggling through the desert. +Around them the sun beat heavily upon the naked +sandy plain which reflected its rays mercilessly. +Here and there dried-up swamps showed their clay +bottoms covered all over with heat cracks, while +the herbage, which during the rainy season had +made a girdle of green about them, hung yellow, +withered and sapless.</p> + +<p>Far away, in the west, along the blue horizon, +the banks of the canal with their string of reddish +mangroves made a thin edging which grew smaller +and smaller with every hour of their march. Distant +and threatening, the Moï mountains now made +under the burning sky but a single confused crowd +of peaks above which the Pou-Kas alone soared +clear and dominating.</p> + +<p>Towards evening the first hillocks made their +appearance. Like small waves stricken into stillness +the plain broke into undulations which ran +east and west so that the setting sun shining over +their tops barred them alternately with light and +shade.</p> + +<p>Between two hillocks where the course of a +dried-up stream had still left a patch of stagnant +water the guides called a halt. Then, in the limpid +night, the fires of their first camp shot up in twisted +flame and threw against the shoulders of the hills +the magnified shadows of the elephants sporting +in the slimy water.</p> + +<p>On the summit of one of the hillocks one of +Father Ravennes' guides had taken his stand as +sentinel. He stood erect, immobile, leaning on his +lance. Against the milky sky his body stood out +in its barbaric profile, and through the night, until +the dawn, his guttural voice cried out the hour of +the watch at the measured time.</p> + +<p>For two days more, the march resumed at dawn +continued all day till night across the Waterless +Country, a gloomy land made desolate by drought. +Under the sky, shining like a polished steel mirror, +the desert flamed monotonous and endless. The +wind tearing down from the high plateau to the +north swept it with long strokes. The sand rose +up in clouds and rolled round the caravan, whipping +the faces of the men, scorching their throats +and leaving between their cracked lips voices +which had sunk to a hoarse whisper and their +breath dry and laboring. The heat of the ground +burnt their feet through their sandals, and upon +their backs bent by marching the implacable sun +fell like flame.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The third night found them seventy miles from +the station, on the edge of a water-course cut +between two hillocks. The muddy banks, burnt +hard by the terrible heat, had broken away under +the enormous weight of the elephants. Between +the sandy slopes under the meagre shade cast by a +prickly gum-tree was a large pool of stagnant +water, now transformed into red mud by the trampling +of the elephants. In their tent, pitched on +the point of the dune, Father Ravennes and Lursac +were listening while the headman made his daily +report.</p> + +<p>He was an old Cambodian with dreamy eyes and +leisurely movements. In his sing-songy voice +sounded caressing inflections which suggested the +sweetness and tenderness of the love-songs of the +Lao-ese country which he was in the habit of +singing to his men on the march to keep them in +step.</p> + +<p>"Then, to sum up," said Lursac, "we now have +four men sick?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, three have fever and the fourth was +wounded in the right foot this morning. His comrades +have had to carry him here."</p> + +<p>Lursac looked at the headman and his eyebrows +drew together making a bar across his forehead.</p> + +<p>"That man," said he, "cannot go on. He would +be a nuisance to us and would keep us back. And +the others? Is it just a slight fever or a serious +attack?"</p> + +<p>The headman flung his arms wide with an air of +disgust.</p> + +<p>"Who knows?" said he, "they complain. Their +feet and legs are swollen, and when we camp they +don't eat and don't sleep. They spend the whole +night crouched before the fires, close enough to +roast themselves."</p> + +<p>Lursac turned towards Father Ravennes.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of it?"</p> + +<p>The missionary nodded his head thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"I am afraid that they are seriously ill. These +feeble constitutions of theirs, ready to contract any +disease, always take the fever badly and with distressing +violence. I would rather they had got +something else. Quinine does not act on them, and +in any case, they need, in order to fight the disease, +an energy and a moral force which they do not +possess."</p> + +<p>Pierre asked:</p> + +<p>"Then you think that the best thing we can do +is to leave them behind?"</p> + +<p>"I am sure that it would be dangerous to encumber +ourselves with sick men. From the minute +we enter the forest our approach will be signalled. +It's no good deceiving ourselves. A body of men +like this cannot march unseen. From that moment +our principal chance of success will lie in the swiftness +of our march. We must get up there as +quickly as possible."</p> + +<p>Pierre assented with a nod. He signed to the +headman.</p> + +<p>"You will pick out two men from the less serviceable +ones and at sunrise they are to start back and +return to the Post with the four invalids."</p> + +<p>He rapidly scratched a few words in his notebook, +tore out the page and handed it to the headman.</p> + +<p>"Here are their marching orders. We will give +them six days' rations of rice and dried fish. The +sick men are to keep their muskets and thirty cartridges +each. The two men of the escort will take +fifty each. The ammunition which they leave behind +is to be distributed among the remaining +riflemen. That's one thing settled. Have you anything +else to tell me?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing, sahib."</p> + +<p>"Good. Start at the same hour tomorrow. +That's all. You can return to the camp."</p> + +<p>The man bowed.</p> + +<p>"I salute you, sahib."</p> + +<p>"I salute you, Ket-Noi."</p> + +<p>With a bitter smile on his lips Pierre turned to +Father Ravennes.</p> + +<p>"Six men less," said he, "and we have not yet +even entered the forest!"</p> + +<p>The missionary made a soothing movement.</p> + +<p>"What matter? Six men more or less! The +important thing is that our troop, however much +it may be reduced, should continue a solid, homogeneous +force, well in hand. These days of march +across the Waterless Country have naturally provided +a sort of preliminary trial,—the first selective +process, of distinct value. The mountain is +probably keeping for us a second and more difficult +one. I am afraid of it, because it is a moral one. +From tomorrow it will not be only fatigue, fever, +bad weather and privation that the men must face; +there will be something else."</p> + +<p>He was silent. Motionless in the middle of the +opening of the tent he turned his eyes towards the +confused huddle of the Moï mountains of which +the vague cloudy masses under the tender sky made +one think of some slowly passing troop of animals +monotonously heading towards the north.</p> + +<p>Lursac, standing beside him, followed his look. +The priest finished his thought:</p> + +<p>"There will be also, and above all, fear," he +murmured.</p> + +<p>Pierre remained silent.</p> + +<p>The warm dark came; and the quiet brought to +their ears the sound of talking among the native +soldiers camping by the bed of the dried-up torrent +and the stamping of elephants in the swamp, the +guttural calls of the mahouts and even the crackling +of the fires.</p> + +<p>Above the hillocks the rushing flight of a night-bird +passed, faded into the distance, and came back +with beating wings, and at the sound of its flight +which seemed to fill the night with invisible rustlings, +the image of Wanda arose and filled all the +dark spaces about him.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>"Lursac, come and look at this...."</p> + +<p>Pierre, who was prone before the fire, towards +which he was stretching his hands, got up and +went over to Father Ravennes. Kneeling down, +with his body bent over the black, leaf-covered +earth, the missionary looked thoughtfully at an +object which it was difficult to distinguish clearly.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Lursac.</p> + +<p>The priest raised his head: there was a strange +ring in his voice.</p> + +<p>"Here, look what I have just found under this +thin coating of leaves."</p> + +<p>He stretched out to him over his shoulder a sort +of hammer made of stone set in the end of a forked +branch. The young man threw a rapid glance over +the weapon. It seemed to him clumsy, commonplace +and of no particular interest.</p> + +<p>"A skull-smasher left by some Moï?" said he.</p> + +<p>The missionary continued to look thoughtful.</p> + +<p>"Have you ever before seen any instrument of +theirs like this?" he asked. "I am well acquainted +with most of the savage tribes of this region. +They are all armed with the lance, the crossbow, +the curved sword, and sometimes with a little iron +hatchet with two cutting edges, but never yet have +I found among them a weapon in any way resembling +this...."</p> + +<p>He returned to his place before the fire. He +continued to examine the primitive instrument, +turning it about between his hands.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "this is certainly an axe belonging +to prehistoric times. Observe the oval shape +of the flint, flattened on the two sides and shaped +by hand over its entire circumference. But there +is something even more strange about this simple +stone. Look at it carefully. Don't you notice +anything?"</p> + +<p>"No," said Pierre absent-mindedly, "and I fail to +understand your surprise. Have you not already +picked up more than thirty of the same kind? As +for me, I see no difference whatever between this +hatchet and all those I have already examined in +your cabin."</p> + +<p>The priest said slowly:</p> + +<p>"The fact is that you do not know how to +see."</p> + +<p>He held the flint close to the fire. On the regularity +of its facets the flame was reflected in small, +sharp patches of light.</p> + +<p>"Look at these flakings still fresh from the cutting! +That is what is the peculiar thing about it. +It's that that bewilders me and astounds me. If I +could trust to appearances I would swear that this +weapon, which all my anthropological knowledge +tells me must be not less than 30,000 years old, +has been cut by the maker within a few months. +If I were in Europe I should not hesitate to assert +positively that the thing was a fake, and that it +came from one of these factories of 'prehistoric' +arms that exist wherever the scientists dig for +real ones."</p> + +<p>Pierre smiled in amusement.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said he, "and sometimes they do manage +to humbug the palæontologists."</p> + +<p>The missionary quickly protested:</p> + +<p>"Not now, but when the science was in its infancy, +it was a trade that often proved lucrative; +but to imagine that here in the depths of the Moï +country there could be an industry of that sort +would be too preposterous!... However ..."</p> + +<p>He stopped and looked the weapon over once +more with the greatest care.</p> + +<p>"However, I am not dreaming. This dull look is +too characteristic for me to be deceived about it. +These are fresh fractures. The perfect state of +preservation of the stone itself signifies nothing, I +know; but the absence of patina,<a id="FNanchor_11_11" href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> of dentrites,<a id="FNanchor_12_12" href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> +and of coloration on this flint—how will you explain +that? This is indeed one of the most extraordinary +problems that I have ever encountered since +I have been interested in prehistoric remains."</p> + +<p>"Bah!" said Pierre, "a Moï may have found the +weapon in a hollow in some ravine and used it himself +and made these new fractures that seem so +strange to you."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes made a sign of incredulity.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said he, "I thought of that. That explanation +would be likely enough if this find were my +only one; but in the two days that we have been in +the forest this is the eleventh discovery that I have +made. Yesterday four scratching pins and two +other hatchets; today, two knives, two scrapers, +and now this hatchet.... And every one of these +instruments without exception offers the same +appearance of newness and the same recent fractures. +No, believe me, Lursac, this is one more +mystery added to the other, to the great secret +towards the discovery of which we are marching."</p> + +<p>He remained thoughtful. The flame of the camp-fire +flickered in his pale pupils. He had a peculiar +expression in his eyes.</p> + +<p>"At least," said he, "there may be one single +mystery, and this, perhaps, is just one of its elements, +one of its unforeseen aspects."</p> + +<p>Pierre looked him up and down sharply.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" he asked. "You seem to +have thought of something!"</p> + +<p>The missionary avoided the pointed enquiry of +his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Nothing," said he evasively, "I am groping my +way. Amid the darkness which surrounds me I +seem sometimes to find a ray of light. It appears +suddenly, flickers, flees and disappears. A light +... I am searching...."</p> + +<p>He thought for a minute and then continued:</p> + +<p>"I say to myself that in the heart of this Moï +country, whose people still live a life which is +animal and primitive, an existence very similar to +that which the men of the first days of life on the +earth must have lived, there lies a great temple +without doubt several centuries old. How and by +whom was this temple built? That is the first +question. In this sanctuary mysterious divinities +reign—the Red Gods—of whom an image in purple +metal, probably copper, is enthroned in the centre +of the main hall. But these gods themselves, what +are they? That is the second question. Sometimes +the people call them the Living Gods. Do +you remember Hmon's story? What then? Are +they Lamas, living Buddhas, similar to those who +reign on the lofty plateaus of Thibet? There +would be nothing impossible in the thing, nothing +unlikely. And the sect that worships them? To +what faith do they belong? Buddhism, Taoism, +Brahmanism, or just fetichism? Finally, why is +the matter wrapped about with secrecy so impenetrable +and so fiercely protected? The natives must +know that their religion, whatever it is, has nothing +to fear from French rule. The pagodas and +bonzes of Annam, Tonkin, of Cochin-China and +Cambodia are there to bear witness to that! What +then?... No! there is evidently behind all that, +behind and beyond it, something or somebody: a +secret association, or a mysterious personage, of +which this temple is the dwelling place. The religious +question is only the camouflage that the sorceresses +keep up carefully, and which they use to +hide this reality of which I have long suspected +the existence without ever having been able to discover +in what it consists. Hmon only told us the +least important part of it ... and I am +searching...."</p> + +<p>Pierre shrugged his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"What is the good of imagining all these worries? +In three days we shall be up there and we +shall know with what we have to deal. As for +these weapons, the reason for their presence here +is probably much simpler and much less romantic +than you think. Prehistoric man probably had +one of his first dwelling places on these plateaus. +Didn't you tell me so yourself? The Moïs must +have found some of the caves which these prehistoric +men used to occupy, and in the caves these +remains which they left lying about throughout the +region. What worries me much more than that is +the behaviour of our men and of our beasts."</p> + +<p>The missionary made no answer. He seemed to +accept Pierre's explanation but his eyes retained +their expression at once thoughtful and anxious. +In any case, the last remark of the young man had +brought up other matters for concern.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>The night before, they had plunged into the +maze of the mountain masses. The sudden change +of direction, which had been ordered at dawn of +the fourth day, had obviously provoked among the +men of the escort an anxious disquiet, a sort of +vague uneasiness. Nevertheless, the roughness +with which Pierre had imposed his will upon them +seemed to have dominated them. The mahouts on +their heavily swaying beasts had followed the +guides, but their eyes remained glued to the forest +of which the details slowly came nearer and grew +clearer. The native soldiers behind them walked +without speaking to each other, and the caravan +went forward in the midst of a troubled silence in +which nothing was heard but the dull trampling +of the elephants. Little by little the scenery +changed. To the sandy desert had succeeded the +dazzling monotony of a grassy plain which in turn +gave way to the first slopes of the mountain range +carpeted by the bamboo-grass of the forest clearings, +with slender shrubs and the <i>Irui</i>, whose long, +pointed purple buds stretched themselves skyward +like solid flames. Here and there stagnant +creeks lay across their path, green and slimy, +attracting the elephants so that the mahouts had +to stab their ears with heavy ankus blows to prevent +them rolling in the sticky blackish hollows +encircled by thorny, twisted and misshapen trees. +Then the mountain, heaving up its giant flanks, +had barred the way of the expedition with its steep +declivities. Immediately difficulties had arisen. +Among the tangled confusion of twisted trunks, of +creepers, of cane-palms, of pandanus trees and of +interlacing undergrowth, the riflemen, axe in hand, +had had to cut a way for the beasts. The ground, +covered with a heavy carpet of sodden leaves, +sweated a perpetual moisture; and wherever they +trod the decay from the rotting masses of vegetation +underneath burst upwards in black bubbles.</p> + +<p>From the piled débris covering the path hungry +leeches, the innumerable red leeches of the Moï +forests, swarmed in their turn, crawling to attack +the men. They tore them off as they walked, but +the first evening, just before camp had been made, +three of the men, with their legs streaked with long +trickles of blood and covered with wounds, the +muscles swollen and stiff, had rolled over groaning. +Dull and resigned, their faces drawn with pain, +they had seated themselves on the trunk of an uprooted +tree where they shook their naked feet mottled +with bloody spots to which clung new leeches, +avid and persistent. It had been necessary to +dress their wounds and to help them to walk to the +camp. And next morning, before continuing the +march, Pierre found himself obliged to send them +back. Worse than that, the elephants, worn with +exertion, weary from having hauled their great +weight up slopes of hills and ravines and furiously +shaking their great ears all bloody from the recent +stabs of the ankuses, had shown throughout the +day signs of growing terror.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>And now, before the camp-fires the mahouts were +on guard. They had doubled the chains that +secured their beasts, as at night, even more than +during the day, the thick brains of the pachyderms +seemed to swarm with obscure thoughts of rebellion +and angry confusion.</p> + +<p>Around his picket Bookobomo-of-the-Forest, the +leader of the elephant file, could be heard stamping +heavily. He was an enormous male recently captured +on the high Boloven plateaus. He had retained +a lively remembrance of the noises of the +forest and the mountain passes; and when, during +the afternoon, he had crossed the track of a herd +of wild elephants and stopped long to sniff at it, for +a long time after he had trumpeted deafeningly +and savagely towards the depths of the woods,—a +trumpeting in which vibrated unaccustomed tones +and through which seemed to sweep the rude +breath of the wind bending the great grasses in +which, a few months before, he had lived his wild +free life. The other beasts of the convoy—the +females—were under the influence of his force and +ascendancy. Slow and docile they had followed +him on the march.</p> + +<p>Hearing the hammer blows of his stamping, +Pierre became anxious.</p> + +<p>He repeated with seriousness:</p> + +<p>"Yes, what worries me is the behavior of the +men, and even more so that of the beasts...."</p> + +<p>He looked around him. Grouped before a large +camp-fire which the two guides in turn attended +to, the riflemen lay wrapped in a heavy sleep +broken by nervous movements.</p> + +<p>The voices of the mahouts, camped with their +elephants near a swamp at some little distance, +came to him through the curtain of the trees.</p> + +<p>The atmosphere, cold and heavy, shed its damp +in a thin steam, and an inexpressible weight +seemed to bear down upon the forest. Giving way +to the universal torpor which the night distilled +around him, Pierre stretched himself and yawned, +then remembering Wanda he rose to his feet. +With his eyes set in an expression of stern determination, +and shaking off his premonition of +failure, he stiffened his will and stilled his doubts +with an energetic affirmation:</p> + +<p>"I will get there, with or without them—alone, +if necessary."</p> + +<p>Roughly, almost violently, he repeated it looking +at the missionary:</p> + +<p>"I will get there ... I will get there...."</p> + +<p>But the forest, drowned in darkness, seemed to +stifle his voice; and the priest, deeply absorbed in +his own thoughts, said nothing.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</h2> +</div> + +<h3>DEEPENING MYSTERY</h3> + + +<p>"<i>Bay chon?</i>"</p> + +<p>"<i>Breil koil toxo!</i>"<a id="FNanchor_13_13" href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> + +<p>The cries of the two guides rose followed by a +string of oaths.</p> + +<p>Awakened with a start, Pierre looked around +him. Lying on his back, with his hands crossed +over his chest, Father Ravennes still slept. His +face even in his sleep wore an air of serenity and +kindness which struck the young man afresh. +Around them was beginning to float a grayish +clearness.</p> + +<p>The voices of the Moïs came nearer and louder, +and the flap of the tent, pulled violently aside, gave +entrance to the men. With their lances in their +hands they burst in, shouting and gesticulating. +Instinctively Pierre stretched out his hand and +seized the revolver which lay beside him in its +holster.</p> + +<p>Jumping to his feet with a single spring, the +missionary broke in:</p> + +<p>"What's happening?"</p> + +<p>The guides both together cried out:</p> + +<p>"They've gone, all of them ... all of them ... +while we were asleep!"</p> + +<p>They stammered: their eyes were dazed and +their movements jerky.</p> + +<p>Lursac looked at them without understanding. +He imagined they were drunk.</p> + +<p>"Gone, where? Of whom are you speaking?"</p> + +<p>Ngur swore:</p> + +<p>"The <i>linhs</i>, those sons of dogs.... Gone, run +off! I told you, sahib! It would have been better +to tell them. We should have known at once what +to expect...."</p> + +<p>Pierre no longer listened. He had gone suddenly +pale and then a wave of red surged into his +face. He elbowed the two men aside and rushed +out. Father Ravennes hurried at his back. In +the middle of the glade they stopped. The camp-fires +were going out. Among the warm ashes a +few live coals still glowed. Here and there lying +on the ground abandoned haversacks still showed +the marks of the heads which had lain on them +during the night. Around lay packets of cartridges.</p> + +<p>His teeth clenched in fury, Pierre mechanically +counted some twenty of them.</p> + +<p>"The brutes! ..." he groaned. "The brutes!..."</p> + +<p>He turned toward the guides.</p> + +<p>"But what on earth came over them? Last +night when the headman made his report we +guessed nothing, suspected nothing. There was +not a sign that could lead us to think of a desertion. +When did you become aware that they had +disappeared?"</p> + +<p>Ngur answered:</p> + +<p>"Just a few minutes ago. We were sleeping in +the middle of them. Pâa was lying by the headman's +side. Waking up, we were surprised not +to see any of them ... and then finding <i>this</i> +close by our faces we understood!"</p> + +<p>And with the point of his lance he pushed two +bunches of half-burnt roots.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes bent over quickly to look at +them.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said he, rising again, "<i>koh-heun-kauang</i>, +the smoke of which intoxicates and stupefies. +They made sure of the silence of our guides by +burning this stuff under their noses during the +night. They must be a long way off by now!"</p> + +<p>He turned to question the guides.</p> + +<p>"How long ago did they start, do you think?"</p> + +<p>The two men looked carefully at the half-dead +fires and the abandoned haversacks.</p> + +<p>"See for yourself, Father. The sacks are damp, +but rain has not fallen since the second watch, the +mahouts tell us, therefore, they must have started +before it stopped."</p> + +<p>Pierre gave a start. He turned abruptly on his +heel.</p> + +<p>"The elephants? The elephants?"</p> + +<p>And running, he reached the swamp ringed +about with trees and thick undergrowth, on the +edge of which the mahouts had made their camp.</p> + +<p>Sunk to their knees in the blackish water of the +creek, the beasts were squirting their muddy sides +with great jets from their bent trunks. Seated +beside the saddles on the ground the mahouts were +talking among themselves.</p> + +<p>Pierre experienced a profound relief, and he +slackened his pace and entered the group of La-oese +who had risen respectfully at his approach. +Standing among them he examined their faces. +He scrutinized their eyes with a quick look. He +found them emotionless and passive, awaiting his +instructions, and the sight of their indifference +brought back to him his own self-control.</p> + +<p>He said nothing to them about the desertion of +the riflemen. Quietly lighting a cigarette he gave +the order to load the elephants. Then he went +back towards the clearing. His mind upset for an +instant had recovered its equilibrium. His decision +was made: the march must continue.</p> + +<p>He found the missionary at the place where he +had left him several minutes before, still arguing +with the guides. He avoided the glance with which +the priest acknowledged his return and addressed +himself to Ngur and Pâa:</p> + +<p>"Go and help the mahouts. We will start as +soon as they are ready."</p> + +<p>The two men showed no signs of surprise or of +wishing to dispute the order. They assented:</p> + +<p>"Very well, sahib"; and without a word set off +at their habitual easy gait.</p> + +<p>Roughly, with the object of impressing his will +and cutting short all arguments, Lursac said:</p> + +<p>"It is too late to go back. If we tried to catch +up with the riflemen, what would be the good? +First of all we should probably be unable to catch +them; and then, secondly, supposing we did get +them and bring them back, we should only have +lagging behind us a body of men prostrated with +terror, a mob of cowards, who at the first occasion +would desert us afresh."</p> + +<p>He stopped, awaiting a reply. The missionary +remained silent: with a rather sad smile upon his +lips he contented himself with listening attentively +to the young man.</p> + +<p>"And anyway," continued Pierre, "the elephants +with their mahouts remain to us; the guides also. +They are the ones that are really necessary. Once +we have arrived at the top I shall consider, I shall +make a plan which afterwards I can modify +according to circumstances."</p> + +<p>He intentionally left the missionary out in +explaining his project. The words that he had +spoken the evening before came back to his lips +instinctively and once more he spoke them to +alleviate his distress:</p> + +<p>"I will get there ... alone if necessary.... I +will get there!... I will get there!"</p> + +<p>Abruptly he fell silent. His eyes met those of +the priest, and before the latter's meaning glance, +his long look charged with reproach, he hung his +head. He was ashamed of having doubted him, of +having tried to impose his own authority upon him. +The missionary, however, did not seem to notice: +he said simply:</p> + +<p>"I shall go on with you, if you will let me."</p> + +<p>But the smile with which he accompanied the +words was sadder and graver than ever.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Towards night they came to the bank of a river, +before which Bookobomo stopped distrustfully. +Behind him the other elephants stood motionless +in file. The rain had begun to fall again. Under +the flood which drenched them and made them +shiver, the men, chilled and covered with sticky +mud, looked down at the gray waters of the river +which the downpour seemed to riddle with innumerable +perforations.</p> + +<p>Above the rift, which the course of the waters +had notched in the forest, hung a lane of gray sky +marbled with heavy, round clouds that lay dark +and motionless. The five mahouts who had +swarmed down from the necks of their beasts were +grouped round the great male whose driver was +the only one remaining at his post. Crouched over +the bony head of his beast, the man talked to his +mount while he stroked its wrinkled neck and encouraged +it. Slowly swinging his trunk, Bookobomo +began to go forward, descending the bank +and stepping cautiously into the water. The current +slid between his great pillar-like legs, rose to +his knees, then to his stomach, washed his wrinkled +sides, rose yet further and continued to rise....</p> + +<p>Then with a sudden turn, Bookobomo flung himself +backwards, stumbled out of the water and +with his feet driven into the mud of the bank he +defied all attempts to move him. Around him the +cries of the mahouts and the guide broke out, +mixed with insults and entreaties. Armed with +sticks they tried to make him turn round and face +the water again. Persisting in his resistance, +Bookobomo trumpeted but refused to stir. The +men on all sides began beating him. A fit of rage +seized the pachyderm. He tried to get rid of the +man crouching on his back. He scraped himself +against the trunk of a mangrove and then lay suddenly +down on his side, but the Lao-ese, who had +drawn back to the rear end of the beast, outside +the range of his trunk, continued to beat him on +the head with his ankus.... Supported by one +hand caught in the ropes of bamboo which secured +the pack-saddle he tirelessly raised and let fall on +the head of the beast the heavy pole of wood shod +with an iron point, until the blood squirted from +the neck and forehead and ran down in rivulets +along the brown skin. Getting up and shaking his +massive body violently, with his trunk rolled backwards +in its fighting position and his head held +high, Bookobomo trumpeted afresh. Then with a +dash he flung himself into the current and swam +furiously. Reaching the other bank he climbed it +and turned his great head towards his companions +who remained on the other side, and again the +call of his trumpeting broke out savagely, sounding +rebellion and defiance. On the edge he had +just left, the trumpeting of the females rang out +in response.</p> + +<p>The guides standing beside Pierre and the missionary +exchanged an anxious glance which Father +Ravennes caught.</p> + +<p>"What is worrying you?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Ngur pointed at the five females who were getting +ready to cross the creek.</p> + +<p>"They are calling too loud," said he, "and he," +pointing at Bookobomo, "since he got into the forest +is thinking too much of the mountains of the +Bolovens where he used to live in freedom. We +shall have to watch them tonight."</p> + +<p>"Yes," Pâa said in his turn, "the elephant which +cries in the forest is on his way to becoming wild +again."</p> + +<p>"The advice is good," said Pierre. "We will +watch them."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>When the four men in their turn reached the +other bank, the night was already falling. A flurrying +wind blowing the rain before it in slanting +torrents invaded the forest, making the trees groan +beneath it.</p> + +<p>Camping on the threshold of the wood, a quarter +of a mile beyond the creek, the men made their +meagre meal. The elephants, attached by their +hind feet to the trunks of trees, pulled down the +branches above them and ate the leaves slowly. +From time to time they stopped, and with waving +trunks and pricked-up ears seemed to be listening +to the voice of the wind as it sang through the +aisles of the forest. Gathered together round a +single fire the two guides and the mahouts warmed +themselves. One of them recited aloud an adventure +at once puerile and complicated, a story +of love and terror in which the embraces of a Pou-Sao<a id="FNanchor_14_14" href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> +rewarded the fabulous exploits of a buffalo-hunter. +And the others, like children, listened +intently.</p> + +<p>In the middle, rolled up in their cloaks and lying +side by side, Lursac and Father Ravennes talked +in low voices.</p> + +<p>"Tomorrow?" asked Pierre. "Shall we get there +tomorrow?"</p> + +<p>His voice trembled.</p> + +<p>"I think so," said the missionary, "we are not +more than five hours' march from the Pou-Kas. +Five hours ... four, perhaps! And we will allow +as much more for the finding of the mysterious entrance +to the temple which we none of us +know...."</p> + +<p>He hesitated for a moment, and then in his turn +asked the question:</p> + +<p>"What do you think?"</p> + +<p>Pierre signified doubt by a vague movement.</p> + +<p>"I know nothing about it," said he. "The desertion +of the riflemen has upset all my plans. We +can no longer hope to rescue Wanda from them +by force."</p> + +<p>He turned suddenly to the priest.</p> + +<p>"Do you know how much we have got left in the +way of arms and ammunition? My service revolver +and a dozen cartridges which I had on me! +All the rest was carried off by the riflemen! Ah! +the brutes! If they only had left us even two +rifles, one each...."</p> + +<p>The priest looked at him with his kind eyes.</p> + +<p>"Only one of them would have been used," said +he gently. "God alone, who gives life to men, has +the right to take it away from them. I have no +right to kill. My only hope...."</p> + +<p>He interrupted himself and smiled.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon," said he. "It seems as if +I were preaching a sermon and this is not the time, +and still less is it the place. I will come back to +my question: What will you do when you reach +there?"</p> + +<p>Pierre looked vaguely in front of him. His +thoughts had gone back in search of a memory and +were already in the past. He swiftly lived over +again his declaration to Wanda in the forest; the +feel of the kiss that she had given him—of the +only kiss that he had ever had from her,—came +again to his lips. With a slight tightening at the +corners of his mouth and his eyelids beating rapidly +he closed his eyes.</p> + +<p>"We will hide somewhere near the temple and +wait for an opportunity to get inside," said he. +"We shall have to make use of patience and subtlety. +We must remain invisible and watch the +goings-in and comings-out. The whole thing will +be to see the most favorable moment and be quick +to use it."</p> + +<p>The missionary approved.</p> + +<p>"That is the wisest plan, and the one which I had +myself thought best from the beginning; but is also +the one which will demand calm heads and the +power of waiting passively. The least imprudence, +the first too-hasty movement, will deprive us of +any chance of success. We must succeed at the +first attempt...."</p> + +<p>"Have no fear," said Pierre, "I will wait as long +as necessary, and I will not act except on a certainty. +For the rest...."</p> + +<p>The trumpeting of the elephants interrupted +him. Straining hard at their bonds they had all +together flung a sudden loud call into the night. +The mahouts and the guides, suddenly ceasing +their talk, nervously watched the brutes who were +snorting and restlessly moving about. They had +stopped eating. With their heads turned towards +the depths of the forest they seemed to be listening +to mysterious voices which were inaudible to +the ears of man.</p> + +<p>Ngur murmured:</p> + +<p>"They are calling...."</p> + +<p>But one of the mahouts, shaking his head, corrected +him:</p> + +<p>"No ... worse than that.... They are answering! +Listen!"</p> + +<p>They all remained intensely on the alert. Having +thrown aside their cloaks, Lursac and Father +Ravennes sat up. With their eyes, like the others', +instinctively fixed on the sombre masses of the +woods, they listened absorbedly.</p> + +<p>Confused noises far in the distance came to +them, so vague that they could not define them. +Then they grew louder and more definite. It +sounded like the trampling of a great herd of animals +on the march through the underbrush. It +came nearer and nearer, until it was apparently +opposite them: they could hear the heavy thuds of +feet mixed with the crashing of the torn-up bushes +and the breaking of trees and smashing of branches. +It stopped. There was a short silence: then the +noise began again, diminished, turned to the right, +went behind them, then to the left and finally was +heard once more opposite, having made a great +circle about the camp, with the caravan as its +centre.</p> + +<p>Wrapping his trunk round the <i>klong</i>-tree to +which he was tied, and leaning his whole weight +against it, Bookobomo shook it in a desperate effort +to uproot it. The top of the tree waved violently, +scraping the trees around it with its +branches. However, it stood firm. The elephant +became enraged and pulled still harder. The slim, +straight tree-trunk trembled: around the roots +cracks came in the soil and Bookobomo roared in +a voice vibrating with triumph, while, following +him, the females in their turn trumpeted into the +shadows. Again there fell a silence. Then suddenly +in the distance a great call rose up to the sky +and tore through the night, a strange call which +resembled the trumpeting of the elephants but +which was somehow different, more sonorous, and +with sharper inflections, wilder and stronger.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes shivered. He had that strange +look on his face which Pierre had noticed two days +earlier.</p> + +<p>"Extraordinary," he murmured. "I must clear +this up!"</p> + +<p>He had already risen to his feet, but Ngur +stepped in front of him.</p> + +<p>"No, Father, it will be better for you to stay +here because of those people." Indicating the mahouts +with a movement of his chin, he added:</p> + +<p>"I will go myself."</p> + +<p>The missionary was on the point of protesting, +but at this moment the mahouts, jumping up in +excitement, shouted:</p> + +<p>"Torches! Quick ... quick!..."</p> + +<p>And at the same time with flaming firebrands in +their hands they flung themselves at their beasts, +making a circle of flame about them. Lursac and +the priest took part in it. They all ran round +and round the elephants, shouting and waving their +torches and striking the elephants with heavy blows +from their ankuses.</p> + +<p>For over an hour the pachyderms turned and +circled round the trees to which they were attached, +rocked from foot to foot, reared up on +their hind legs and made desperate efforts to get +loose. Finally, however, blinded by the torches, +in agony from the ankus blows, their excitement +diminished and they stood sulkily by their trees, +stilled and conquered.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, about them the disturbance of the +mysterious herd that had been prowling there, became +more distant and gradually quieted down, +seeming to make its way towards the north from +which it had come.</p> + +<p>"A herd of wild elephants who were coming +down to drink at the river," said Pierre, "our presence +must have...."</p> + +<p>But the return of Ngur cut short his explanation. +At the sight of the face of the usually impassive +Moï, now transfigured with emotion and +completely changed in this short time, he lapsed +into silence.</p> + +<p>The man stood apart and called to Father Ravennes +with a gesture.</p> + +<p>The missionary took Pierre's arm.</p> + +<p>"Come," said he.</p> + +<p>Throwing down their torches, they went to speak +to Ngur.</p> + +<p>"Well," asked the priest, "what is the matter?"</p> + +<p>Wiping his face, down which the rain was +streaming, with the back of his hand, the guide +said:</p> + +<p>"I saw them. They were elephants, but of a +kind I do not know and which I have never met +before."</p> + +<p>Eagerly the missionary questioned him:</p> + +<p>"What were they like?"</p> + +<p>The man spread his arms wide.</p> + +<p>"The one which passed in front of me," said he, +"was, perhaps, twice as big and twice as heavy as +Bookobomo, with its body covered with hair and a +long head."</p> + +<p>"And its tusks? Its tusks?" demanded the missionary.</p> + +<p>The hoarseness and jerkiness of his voice +astounded Lursac.</p> + +<p>"I did not have the time to see properly. He +charged through the undergrowth and passed +ahead of me, going very fast. Perhaps the tusks +were broken. Further away I saw other great +male elephants running in file."</p> + +<p>The missionary remained a moment without +speaking, listening to the sound of the rain falling +through the forest.</p> + +<p>"They are a long way off now," he murmured.</p> + +<p>His words seemed to carry a feeling of regret +which he immediately admitted:</p> + +<p>"Ah! if I had been there myself! You are sure +that they had their bodies covered with hair?"</p> + +<p>"Sure, Father! Long hair, which came down +to the bottom of their legs and made a sort of +mane round their necks."</p> + +<p>The missionary's face lit up and became eager. +He seemed to have forgotten the guide and Lursac.</p> + +<p>With his head hung forward, he stared a moment +absorbedly in thought. Then slowly in a +changed voice he murmured:</p> + +<p>"Long hair, which comes to the bottom of their +legs and lies in a mane along their backs. Can it +possibly be that what I saw three days ago is true? +After all, why not? All the same it would be terrible +if—.... No, it is impossible and beyond +all reason. It is no good my looking ... there +isn't a link missing in the chain that I have followed, +in the chain that has led me to this conclusion. +Nothing!... But what then?..."</p> + +<p>Pierre, astounded, heard him give a loud laugh, +bitter and strange, which the scene about them +made yet stranger....</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</h2> +</div> + +<h3>NEAR THE END OF THE JOURNEY</h3> + + +<p>The dawn found them once more on the march. +The rain still fell, fine and persistent. Its +pattering had now become familiar music to +them. It formed the setting of their words and of +their movements, and they had become so thoroughly +accustomed to the vast sound of splashing +by which they were surrounded that they no +longer noticed it. The rest of the night had been +spent in watching the elephants and keeping guard +over their still dangerous excitement. Only the +missionary, quite careless of the general anxiety, +had remained apart from the others with his back +against a tree, taking no notice of the rain which +poured over him, turning over in his mind thoughts +for which he had no words and the hidden current +of which left his face drawn and his eyes filled +with shadows.</p> + +<p>Now, lost in his meditations, he walked at the +tail of the procession. Pierre, tired of his silence, +had gone on to join the two guides. The elephants +advanced rapidly. The soil, now spotted with +patches of moss, gave better footing for their heavy +steps. The last slope of the towering mountain +whose successive heights they had climbed during +the last few days offered itself to their advance +in a gentle declivity, which they were ascending +with comparative ease. Towards the middle of the +day they reached the last height. Before them, +surrounded by the forest which reached halfway +up its sides, the very crest of the mountain stood +naked, rising out of a billowing sea of giant grasses. +Pierre gave a deep sigh. Here, this very ground +on which he was treading, was the extreme summit +of the "Moï Country": this hill, of which the caravan +was already beginning to descend the reverse, +was the roof of the whole of Indo-China. He +forgot his fatigue, his suffering, his disappointments. +Around him lay unrolled on every side the +country which no one had yet reached, the immense +territory into which no European, up to that moment, +had succeeded in penetrating. The spirit +of the great explorers inspired him for a moment—their +soul and their keen pride of achievement.... +Towards the south and the east, violet, blue and +gray, crests of all shapes and sizes—rounded, +domed and pointed—one behind the other spread +away in ranks like the steps of a great staircase +marking the stages of the route which they had +followed.</p> + +<p>The glance of the young man then turned towards the west. The +mountain on which he was standing culminated in a short, steep slope, +from the foot of which, level and boundless and clad in its thick +mantle of trees, the plateau of the Pou-Kas stretched to the horizon, +the plateau on the other edge of which, facing the south, stood the +temple of the "Red Gods." At the same time his mood of exaltation +suddenly fell away from him. The totally unexpected contour of the +ground near at hand became clear to him. A sort of natural fault in the +rock, about a mile and a half wide, crossed it, encircling it, as it +were, with a deep gulf which stretched to the very edge of the forest. +He calculated that in order to reach the western side of the plateau on +which the sanctuary was built it would be necessary to follow the edge +of this crevasse for a distance of at least thirty miles.</p> + + +<p>"Two more days' march at least," he thought +aloud.</p> + +<p>The voice of the missionary, answering him unexpectedly, +made him start.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps!" he said; "but on the other hand, perhaps +we have already arrived."</p> + +<p>Pierre turned quickly and saw the priest standing +behind him. His arms crossed on his breast, +his head bare, regardless of the rain which was +whipping his face and moulding his tunic to his +body, he was looking at the strange valley that +lay before him.</p> + +<p>"I don't understand you," said Lursac. "It will +be absolutely necessary to go round this crevasse."</p> + +<p>The missionary looked as if he didn't hear him. +He followed out his own thoughts.</p> + +<p>"Notice," said he, continuing to gaze before him, +"the direction of this gulf. It runs parallel to the +edge of the plateau. Notice also how the cliff on +the further side which faces us comes in places +quite close to this edge."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Pierre, "there only seems to be a +space of about half a mile between them just +here."</p> + +<p>"Good! Well, now remember what Hmon told +us—'before us a subterranean passage descended +and turned downwards. Walls trickling with moisture +were lighted up from time to time....' +Among many others, these phrases struck me. +They came to my mind immediately when I saw +this great canyon in the rocks. Have they no meaning +for you? Doesn't that suggest an idea to you—the +same one which has just crossed my own mind?"</p> + +<p>"Ah!" cried Pierre, "the other entrance to the +sanctuary, which no one knows, but which, however, +must exist?"</p> + +<p>The priest nodded his head.</p> + +<p>"Go on," said he, "finish your thought; this entrance?..."</p> + +<p>"You believe that it is to be found at the bottom +of this crevasse?"</p> + +<p>"The more I think of it the more the thing seems +likely. Anyway, it is quite easy to make sure of it. +We can wait till evening on the edge of this canyon; +spend the night in it and tomorrow...."</p> + +<p>"Tomorrow," murmured Pierre, "always tomorrow!"</p> + +<p>And he began to descend the slope of the mountain. +A cry from Father Ravennes stopped him +halfway. He turned round so quickly and with +such anxiety that he was astonished at himself.</p> + +<p>At the same time he called:</p> + +<p>"Ravennes! Ravennes!"</p> + +<p>The sound of his own voice, changed by emotion, +seemed strange to him, and he suddenly understood +the quality and force of the affection which bound +him to his companion.</p> + +<p>The priest at this moment appeared running towards +him.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Pierre, "how you frightened me. +What's the matter?"</p> + +<p>The missionary, taking him by the arm, pulled +him in the direction of the plain.</p> + +<p>"Come," said he, "come!"</p> + +<p>And as they went together he explained:</p> + +<p>"It seemed to me from up there that I could see +... but I thought I must be mistaken. Here ... +look ... yes ... at the angle of the glade down +there, on the left, just where the level ground begins."</p> + +<p>Pierre bent over and examined the glade which +a single unexpected ray of watery sunshine clothed +in a veil of gold; it seemed to him to be empty and +dominated by the top of an enormous mango-tree +which stood in its centre.</p> + +<p>They continued their descent. The top of the +giant tree, making a motionless patch of darkness +in the midst of the packed undergrowth served +them as a goal. When they got to the level they +did not even need its aid. Through the high grass +a sort of track was visible. They followed it. Before +them, describing great circles in the transparent +sky three tawny eagles sailed with long metallic +cries, encircling the leafy summit of the mango-tree +in their flight.</p> + +<p>The missionary began to hurry, almost running. +When he arrived in front of the glade he had to +stop, gasping for breath. He was trembling with +exhaustion and emotion. The beating of his heart +shook his entire body and hammered in his temples. +Supporting himself against a tree he looked +over the clearing. It was long and narrow, and +surrounded with thorny undergrowth. In the centre +the gigantic mango-tree soared aloft, casting +all around a heavy shadow from its leafy branches +about which the three eagles still turned slowly +in wide circles. Everything was silent and still. +The ray of sunshine having passed on, the whole +place was clothed in shadow except that just behind +the tree a single luminous spot remained.</p> + +<p>Walking towards it, the missionary murmured:</p> + +<p>"It is there."</p> + +<p>Then he was silent.</p> + +<p>In the middle of a splash of gold which the sunlight +made on the earth and which was getting +smaller minute by minute a large hole in the +ground had just become visible to him, with a +thin covering of branches and grass which lay +gaping open, as though torn by some shock.</p> + +<p>Pierre, who had caught him up, thought he understood +what it meant.</p> + +<p>"An elephant trap!"</p> + +<p>At the same time seeing a ragged tunic lying +on the ground close to the hole, he cried:</p> + +<p>"Ravennes ... there.... Look!"</p> + +<p>The missionary made no answer.</p> + +<p>Kneeling on the edge of the pit he was separating +the branches and pulling the covering of grass +away, bending over to see better. Suddenly he +flung himself back, his face as white as a sheet.</p> + +<p>Pierre, bending down, in his turn, looked also.</p> + +<p>He saw an excavation which seemed several +yards deep, with sharpened stakes sticking upwards +from the bottom. Caught on one of them +lay a white man. Below him on the ground lay +spread the bones of a skeleton still decorated with +rags of clothes.</p> + +<p>The priest gave a hoarse sigh:</p> + +<p>"Redeski!"</p> + +<p>Clinging to the wall of the trap he climbed down +into it. The officer's body was hanging from a +stake; the sharpened point of the picket had +pierced his side and was sticking out through the +abdomen. On the other side the head dangled +down, the hair falling loose. In the waxen face +the mouth hung open with a red froth around it, +while on the shirt above the heart there spread a +large purple patch which looked like the blood-colored +flower of the flame-tree.</p> + +<p>Down the haft of the spike the blood had flowed +slowly and dried in a black stream.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes lifted the pallid head and +looked at the blue eyes half open in death. A vast +sadness oppressed him.</p> + +<p>"The poor boy!" he said, "the poor boy! They +got rid of him by flinging him there...."</p> + +<p>He gently wiped the red slime from the lips, +and slowly and tenderly, shaken by heavy shudders, +he lifted the body with its horrible ragged +wound off the spike.</p> + +<p>Stretched out on the ground on his back with +his arms wide open the young officer seemed thin +and very tall. His face, although drawn with terrible +suffering, still seemed to bear a strange expression +of calm and strength.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes bowed himself in prayer.</p> + +<p>"O God," said he, "receive him in thy divine +mercy. We lived three months together and I +found him upright, ardent and young: his soul was +that of a man. O God, accept him!"</p> + +<p>Then taking the body in his arms he lifted it out +of the pit to Pierre, who took it. Between them, +without speaking and as quickly as possible, they +managed to dig a grave in the shadow of the mango-tree. +When the simple burial was over, they stood +up and looked at each other. Pierre, pale and with +his fists clenched, murmured:</p> + +<p>"It is only a few days since they killed him, +isn't it? Ah! the savages!..."</p> + +<p>The missionary, however, had not heard him. +Having gone back to the edge of the pit and bending +over, he was looking down into it at the skeleton +which lay there. One of the rags of cloth +hanging to it still bore a metal button. Seeing it, +he murmured:</p> + +<p>"A strip from a tunic. The remains of another +white man for certain."</p> + +<p>He stayed there for a long time wrapped in +thought; and when he got up and looked for Pierre, +he found that the young man had started back +towards the caravan. The priest sighed, and then +heavily, with bent shoulders, he in his turn followed +towards the plain and rejoined his companion, +while above the mango-tree the three eagles +resumed their circling flight, with their stretched-out +wings flashing red in the light of the setting +sun.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>They had been back in the shelter of the forest +for some time now. The rain, so fine that it seemed +to float softly like a watery dust rather than fall, +mingled under the trees with the mist which rose +from the soil to create an atmosphere of damp +stagnation. One seemed to breathe water; and +night, which was coming on, darkened the landscape, +sucking the color from everything and +turning the surroundings into a dull uniform sombreness—the +end of another gray and sullen day.</p> + +<p>And, suddenly, as the darkness fell over the +plateau, Pierre ordered a halt. They had come, +without warning, to the edge of the forest: a narrow +belt of ground, about fifty yards across and +covered with short turf, alone separated it from +the sunken canyon. In the open the wind was +whipping the plateau and buffeting it with billowing +gusts.</p> + +<p>While the mahouts and guides were busied about +their beasts, Lursac and the missionary walked forward +cautiously. On the lip of the crevasse they +bent over, eagerly plunging their eyes into its +depths. But they saw nothing; for the night had +taken possession of the precipice and had made +of it a formless and endless gulf, a gigantic pit +brimming with matted shadows.</p> + +<p>They flung themselves down on the ground side +by side with their heads over the edge and listened. +No sound came up to them. The missionary +stretched down his arm and fingered the rocky wall +below him, feeling over it carefully: it was hard +and cold, cut sheer down through the rock in a +vertical cliff.</p> + +<p>For a long time they remained thus, silent and +motionless. The rain whipped their faces and +drenched them to the skin; now and again a short +shiver would shake one of them, while the quick +beatings of their hearts resounded dully against +the soil and beat like hammers in their brains.</p> + +<p>"Nothing! ..." said Pierre. "Nothing! ... +emptiness! ... silence!..."</p> + +<p>They were getting ready to rise when the missionary, +gripping him violently by the shoulder, +whispered:</p> + +<p>"Opposite ... a little to the left ... lights!"</p> + +<p>Striking through the darkness two luminous +points had just become visible. They seemed far +away, against the opposite side of the crevasse, +and diminished by distance they winked feebly in +the middle of a little yellow halo. Then around +them other lights sprang up one by one. Lursac +counted seven altogether.</p> + +<p>"The gulf is inhabited," said he. "Without +doubt those are the guards of the entrance."</p> + +<p>The missionary gave a silent laugh. His hand +on Pierre's shoulder trembled and tightened.</p> + +<p>"It is inhabited," said he; "these lights prove +it; but one would think that they were on the wall +itself."</p> + +<p>He repeated several times in an absent-minded +tone:</p> + +<p>"On the wall itself...."</p> + +<p>Then he added:</p> + +<p>"Caves, doubtless ... perhaps the underground +entrances to the temple ... or perhaps something +else!..."</p> + +<p>The extraordinary tone of his voice made Pierre +shudder, and he was just about to question him +when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.</p> + +<p>"Our own fires!" he murmured.</p> + +<p>And flinging himself backwards he ran as hard +as he could towards the encampment, reaching it +just in time to see the first flame spring up from +a pile of leaves and branches around which the +mahouts were crouched. One man bending over +the fire was blowing to hasten its igniting. Pierre +with a push shoved him away, and then with great +kicks scattered the brands and beat them out.</p> + +<p>"No fires," said he, "do you hear me? None!"</p> + +<p>The darkness which had thickened around him +prevented him seeing the men, but the noise of +torn branches revealed the neighborhood of the +elephants. He called the guides:</p> + +<p>"Ngur and Pâa! Where are you?"</p> + +<p>The two Moïs approached.</p> + +<p>"Here, sahib!"</p> + +<p>Pierre turned to them.</p> + +<p>"You know where the bundle of rope is that we +brought with us," he said; "get it, and meet me +at the edge of the crevasse. I will wait for you +there with Father Ravennes."</p> + +<p>Before starting, he flung another order.</p> + +<p>"The mahouts will remain to watch the beasts. +I definitely forbid you to stir from here. Understand +that?"</p> + +<p>And without waiting for any answer he set off.</p> + +<p>He found the missionary at the same spot, where +he continued to lie motionless, taking no notice of +the return of his companion. Pierre seized his +arm.</p> + +<p>"Come," said he, "we must make up our minds."</p> + +<p>The missionary suddenly came out of his trance. +He looked about him and sighed deeply.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said he, "you! I was thinking over some +means of getting down there."</p> + +<p>"I only see one," said Pierre. "The cliff goes +sheer down. We shall have to use ropes, so I have +ordered the guides to bring them here."</p> + +<p>"Will they be long enough? We know nothing +of the height of this wall of rock."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Pierre, "I shall go on trying. We +have at least two hundred and fifty yards of rope. +If there is any need of it we could tie the lashings +of the elephants' pack-saddles to that. That would +give us another fifty yards. Say a total of three +hundred...."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the priest, "that is the best plan; but +should we take the risk of doing it at night?"</p> + +<p>"I say yes," said Pierre. "In daylight we should +be discovered immediately. Once we get down +there we can wait for daylight in order to creep +near the caves. In any case I will go first, alone."</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes gave a start.</p> + +<p>"Alone," said he, "what are you talking about? +We will go together. Ngur and Pâa can watch +over our descent and draw us up again in case of +need."</p> + +<p>Pierre felt for the missionary's hand and grasped +it in silence.</p> + +<p>"Don't thank me," said the priest, disengaging +his fingers; and in a low voice he confessed with +a sort of humility mixed with discomfort:</p> + +<p>"You do not know. My attitude during the last +days must have seemed strange to you, very +strange. Perhaps there is a good deal of selfishness +in my devotion. I hope, however, that you +will pardon me when ... but that will wait! +For the moment understand this: nothing could +make me give up exploring, with you or without +you, the bottom of this fissure."</p> + +<p>He repeated in a louder voice:</p> + +<p>"Nothing ... nothing...."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Pierre; "we will go down as +soon as the guides get here."</p> + +<p>All that was necessary having been said, they +were both silent.</p> + +<p>In the crevasse the seven lights continued to +flicker, and, as the fog thickened about them it +enveloped them with halos which minute by minute +became larger and more livid....</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</h2> +</div> + +<h3>A FREAK OF NATURE</h3> + + +<p>Letting down his legs cautiously, Pierre tried +the ground. The level bare soil reassured +him: he stood upright. Searching the night with +his glance, he made a few steps before him at random, +trying to explore his surroundings. He realized +that he was on a narrow platform of rock; +some thirty yards below he thought he could see +the bottom of the fissure revealed by a dark patch +made by a clump of trees. A gentle slope led down +to it. Crouching down, the young man felt the +ground in front of him and found it covered with +grass, and here and there spotted with patches of +lichen. He made a gesture of satisfaction: it +would be possible to walk without making a noise.</p> + +<p>Undoing the rope which was round his body under +the armpits, he returned to the foot of the rocky +wall. He gave three quick jerks at equal intervals, +the signal agreed upon, and an answer came +to him in a few seconds: three answering jerks, +which set the rope swinging, and while it was being +slowly pulled up he leant his back against the +wall of rock and waited.</p> + +<p>The minutes passed. Around him silence +reigned; opposite him the fires continued to burn, +but now in order to see them he had to raise his +head, and he estimated at a guess that he must +be sixty yards above the level of the bottom of the +crevasse. He also tried to calculate the height of +the rock walls by recalling approximately the time +he had taken in reaching the bottom; but he had no +exact idea of the rate of his descent so that he +gave that up. Moreover, violent emotion was keeping +his ideas in a whirl, and although he compelled +himself to remain calm his heart, haunted continually +by the image of Wanda, beat wildly with an +irregular feverish rhythm. She was there in the +heart of this rocky mass which contained the temple, +and of which these winking lights certainly +indicated the entrance. His hands clenched, a +shivering fit ran through him. How was he going +to find her? For he was now certain of seeing +her again. Concerning that he had no doubt whatever. +This certainty had come to him suddenly, +and took possession of him as an article of faith +or an instinct which dominated him and concerning +which there could be no argument. He was +going to see her again! soon ... tomorrow ... +in a few days perhaps, what would it matter! He +would have again before him her subtle face, her +luminous and tender eyes, her long pale hands and +her warm lips, all of those lineaments, the exact +image of which he treasured in the recesses of his +memory.</p> + +<p>A scraping above his head made him raise his +eyes. He drove away the thought-phantom and +called softly:</p> + +<p>"Ravennes!"</p> + +<p>The missionary's voice, discreetly muffled, came +down to him:</p> + +<p>"Here I am.... But what an oven! I can't +see a yard in front of me...."</p> + +<p>Pierre raised his arms and found the legs of the +missionary.</p> + +<p>"Let yourself go ... there ... that's right ... you're +there."</p> + +<p>Getting rid of the ropes which surrounded him, +the priest whispered:</p> + +<p>"Ouf! I thought I should never get here. Do +you know how much rope is left unused up there? +Less than thirty yards including the binding ropes +of the elephants' pack-saddles. Two hundred and +sixty yards of perpendicular depth. You were not +very far out in your calculations."</p> + +<p>A kind of deep joy seemed to animate him. His +voice was full of restrained vibration. He drew +himself up to his full height. Pierre heard his +joints crack; he asked:</p> + +<p>"You have left instructions with Ngur and +Pâa?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the missionary, "they are to pull up +the rope as soon as I have given them the signal. +There, that's done! Their orders are to remain +continually on the edge of the cliff and wait for us. +At a single revolver shot they are to send down +the rope: at the second shot they are to haul it up. +The mahouts will help them. That is for the day-time, +but all night, and every night, the rope is +to be left down. Three pulls is a signal that they +are to haul up, two pulls, they are to send down +provisions. This is to go on for fifteen days. If +between now and then they have no news of us +they are to return to the Post. They understood +thoroughly, and on this point we can remain perfectly +at ease. Anything new on your side?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing," said Pierre. "The bottom of the +crevasse lies at the foot of this short descent. Do +you see that clump of trees, there, opposite? I +think that the best thing we could do would be +to make for it and wait for the day there."</p> + +<p>The missionary peered into the darkness.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am beginning to see a little better ... +your advice seems excellent, let us follow it at +once: the dawn will not be long in breaking."</p> + +<p>With his hand he brushed the rocky wall.</p> + +<p>"Good," said he, "the rope is no longer here. +They have begun to pull it up. Let us start."</p> + +<p>Slowly trying out the ground with every step +they made their way down towards the bottom of +the ravine. The wet grass wound round their legs +and made them stumble. The ground sloped +gently, regularly, without obstacles. The thick +silence was broken by no creaking of insects, no +rustling of leaves, the air was motionless, heavy +and stagnant.</p> + +<p>They reached the threshold of the wood and +made their way in. The darkness became even +thicker around them: between the black trunks +was a mass of tangled bushes, making a double +layer of vegetation: on the top the trees with +their bushy crowns forming a dome, and below, +the compact undergrowth—a tangle of bushes, interlacing +creepers and giant tree-ferns.</p> + +<p>They advanced with the greatest difficulty, +climbing between the bushes until their faces and +their hands were scarred with scratches and the +sweat rolled down them, often mingled with their +blood. They took turns in carrying the bag which +contained the three days' provisions which they +had brought down with them from the plateau. +From time to time, Pierre stopped and raised his +head looking for the lights in the caves. And suddenly, +as for perhaps the tenth time he searched, +he saw them before him on the right. They had +reached the west angle of the wood.</p> + +<p>They stopped there for a considerable time, panting, +unable to think, simply exhausted with the +efforts that they had made.</p> + +<p>In front of the thicket, and extending from the +wood proper, some scattered shrubs pushed out. +Their shadows made dark patches on the surface +of a swamp, the fog arising from which prevented +Lursac and Father Ravennes from seeing how +far it stretched. They could see nothing whatever +of the rest of their surroundings. The fog buried +everything and stretched around the two men a +pallid veil only pierced by the seven fires on the +cliff. A faint sweet scent floated in the air.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes, seated by Pierre, fingered the +trunk of a tree. He pulled off strips of bark and +murmuring to himself turned them about and +about. Pierre caught fragments of phrases.</p> + +<p>"Strange!... I should have said it was the +smell of the prickly Brazil tree ... hard, compact +tissue ... sugary taste...."</p> + +<p>Pierre saw him searching the ground around +him.</p> + +<p>"Flat seed pods, oblong, spongy, four seeds.... +It certainly is ... the Brazil tree ... in the middle +of the Moï country! But then? But +then?..."</p> + +<p>He had got up, a prey to violent agitation.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" said Pierre. "What is the matter?"</p> + +<p>The question of the young man seemed to pacify +him suddenly. He sat down again.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said he, "I have just made a most astounding +discovery: a tree essentially characteristic of +the Brazilian flora, here, in Indo-China! Admit +that there is something to be surprised about in +that...."</p> + +<p>Pierre, with his eyes passionately fixed on the +lights of the cliff, remained indifferent to this botanical +problem. His thoughts, circling about the +caves, awoke in him contradictory and confused +ideas, and he answered absent-mindedly:</p> + +<p>"Truly remarkable!"</p> + +<p>But the vague and careless voice showed no curiosity. +Falling back into their silence they resumed +their watch. The damp enwrapped them +and made them shiver from time to time. The fatigue, +stillness and silence weighed heavily upon +them. A torpor stole upon them and overcame +them. They slept heavily.</p> + +<p>A shrill cry brought them to their feet at a +bound facing each other. Some time had passed.... +Some time ... minutes or hours? They +did not know.</p> + +<p>"Did you hear?" asked Pierre.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the priest, "it seemed to me...."</p> + +<p>They took a few steps and listened. The silence +was unbroken.... Looking about them they began +to distinguish the details of the valley, above +which now floated the dawn.</p> + +<p>The light, clearer each minute, sucked up the +fog and dissolved it, and the surroundings little +by little stood revealed. Immediately in front of +them the swamp stretched with its dead waters, its +muddy banks marked out with giant grasses. It +appeared large and triangular in shape, with its +sharpest, angle pointing towards the wood. Beyond, +rising from the mist the whole depth of +the ravine lay visible. Lursac and the missionary +looked at it eagerly. It was very long, longer +than they had believed. The wood in which they +were, extended on their right and joined itself +to the edge of a forest of which the dark solidly-packed +frondage, filling the entire width of the +valley, ran up against the cliffs on both sides and +lost itself in the distance. On the left of the +marsh spread a great grassy plain, seven or eight +miles in length, dotted with thick copses and bristling +with rocky masses: beyond it, a second forest +stretched towards the south, strangled between the +walls of the ravine, which there drew closer together +until its further end was lost to sight beyond +a turn in the rock.</p> + +<p>The fog, drawn up by the sun, grew thinner and +thinner, and the cliffs, revealed in their full height, +were gradually clothed in the glory of the warm +and luminous morning. Straight and sheer they +fell perpendicularly into the valley, shutting it +round with enormous unscalable walls. A little to +the right of the marsh, about two hundred and fifty +yards from the threshold of the first forest, the +caves cut dark mouths in the rock. Pierre counted +seven of them, grouped on the same level, close +together. They were all dug in the face of the rock +about fifty yards above the ground, with a gentle +grass-covered slope leading up to them.</p> + +<p>With his face stretched forward, and his eyes +fixed eagerly on the cliff, the priest began to talk +to himself.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it's certainly that: Gneiss! ... a solid +fragment of a prehistoric mountain-chain ... a +whole block of the land of Gondwana.... Hairy +elephants ... my tree of last night.... <i>Elephas +primigenius</i>.... Brazilian tree...."</p> + +<p>He followed Pierre, who had begun to go forward. +While advancing, the young man explained:</p> + +<p>"We will reach the forest and work along the +edge of it. Taking advantage of the cover of the +trees, we shall be able, without showing ourselves, +to get near the caves and establish ourselves in +their neighborhood to keep watch over them."</p> + +<p>The missionary mechanically acquiesced.</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, excellent!"</p> + +<p>But he was not listening. Absorbed in his own +thoughts, he pulled feverishly at his beard.</p> + +<p>"I know that I am not mistaken.... I know +it.... Intuition stronger than reason tells me +so. The truth is there, however extraordinary it +may be."</p> + +<p>They had reached the forest. The undergrowth +being too scattered to hide them made it necessary +for them to make their way well into it in +order to seek the obscurity of its recesses. And +as they pushed forward, the trees, at first slender, +became larger and taller, and finally enormous, +with an entirely changed appearance. The usual +vegetation of the Moï country became rarer, altered +in appearance and soon an entirely new flora, unknown +to Pierre, took its place—an unfamiliar, +astounding flora.</p> + +<p>Stammering like a drunken man, Father Revenues +named the different species as he recognized +them, and with each one his agitation increased. +He seemed to be struggling against some sort of +internal excitement, and his face reflected a mixture +of feelings—joy, terror and doubt.</p> + +<p>"There ... yes: this enormous bulk of which +the rust-covered trunk is perhaps fifty yards round +and whose roots spread out over the soil.—Do you +know what that is? No? A baobab!... Do +you hear, Lursac! A baobab! The <i>Adamsonia +digitata</i> of the Soudan, of Darfour and of the +Congo; the tree of such long life that it requires +from six to ten thousand years to attain its full +growth! And there ... there, on the right, that +other giant, a mammoth among trees, a <i>Wellingtonia +gigantea</i>, an extinct species which is preserved +only in California on the Sierra Nevada +where Lobb discovered them quite recently. This +one is at least from four to five thousand years old +... and then look again further along. Yes, that +one that looks like a palm tree with all its branches +terminating in bunches of fleshy leaves stretched +up towards the sky: a <i>Dracæna draco</i> of the Canary +Islands, a dragon tree, a more beautiful one and +huger even than the specimen at Orotava, celebrated +as that is for its size and its age: seven to +eight thousand years!... Here again this shrub, +an Australian <i>Banksia</i>!..."</p> + +<p>He had caught Pierre by the arm, and was shaking +him as he dragged him from one tree to another. +He trembled, patting the wrinkled trunks +and caressing them: the excitement which was +stirring his whole being broke out in jumbled +words, in short confused and unfinished phrases. +He jumped from one idea to another in a whirl of +excitement.</p> + +<p>"Well, what have you got to say about it? +Astounding, isn't it? Here in the middle of Indo-China, +in the Moï country, at the bottom of this +ravine, gathered side by side, not as fossils but +alive, thoroughly alive ... specimens of Brazilian +flora, trees of Africa, of America, of Australia +and even of the Canary Islands! ... growing +together as they did formerly ... as they did +forty or fifty thousand years ago and perhaps very +much earlier<a id="FNanchor_15_15" href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> when the remains of the great equatorial +continent of Gondwana were still in being +and the Brazilian-African plateau united in a single +mass Central America, Africa, India, Arabia, +Indo-China and Australia ... there is the <i>only</i> +explanation!... The explanation which several +days ago I foresaw and had to face."</p> + +<p>Violently he dug his heel into the ground.</p> + +<p>"And now it forces itself upon us, bewilderingly, +blindingly! However fantastic that may seem, this +ground that we are standing on is the same—yes, +the very same—as that which in the great geographical +periods of the globe cradled the germs of +life. We are mounting to the first ages of the +world ... we are living backwards ... a great +fragment of the past has risen before us, uncovering +for us the first hours of Genesis!"</p> + +<p>Pierre listened to him with bewilderment.</p> + +<p>"The ancient strata of the secondary era," continued +the missionary, "pushed aside by the Hercynian +movement, and then later by the Alp-Himalayan +upheaval, broke up and disappeared; +but a vertical crack must have been produced here +which the upheavals of succeeding times have left +untouched, while around it the great secular +changes have worn down mountain summits, parted +continents, and dug the seas. This cleft in the +rocks, preserved by I know not what mysterious +destiny, has remained intact and been preserved +unchanged!..."</p> + +<p>He remained where he stood, turning round and +round and stamping on the ground. Pierre took +him by the arm and drew him aside.</p> + +<p>"Come on," said he. "We have no time to lose +if we want to reach the neighborhood of the caves +before night."</p> + +<p>The missionary followed him with docility. +They continued their advance. The heat increased +and became overwhelming. About midday they +halted and hurriedly ate a few biscuits, resuming +their journey immediately. They walked side by +side without a word and finally it was Pierre who, +after a long while, first broke the silence:</p> + +<p>"Are you quite sure of that?" he asked.</p> + +<p>The priest showed no surprise. He understood +that the same thoughts were working in Pierre +as in himself.</p> + +<p>"Well," he confined himself to saying, "you have +seen as much as I have!"</p> + +<p>But as the young man made a vague gesture +he immediately said:</p> + +<p>"I know, I know.... Someone may have +planted them, or at least have brought the seeds +here. That is your idea!... You see that has +already suggested itself to me. I thought of that +at once when I found the Brazil tree ... as for +that ... it was possible ... but for these others, +the age of which varies from six to ten thousand +years? The others! The baobabs ... the dragon-trees +... what does that lead to?... Who +could have worked to make a sort of botanical garden +in this out-of-the-way corner, a kind of forcing-bed +for the flora of five continents? No, we are +actually on the very land of Gondwana, on the +ancient secondary soil."</p> + +<p>A shudder shook him: his eyes flashed.</p> + +<p>"And I am thinking," said he eagerly, "about the +beings who have certainly lived here, of the monstrous +reptiles and the prodigious birds that came +from it, of the huge mammals and of all the crowd +of gigantic beasts which today have disappeared!"</p> + +<p>He gave a peculiar smile and continued immediately:</p> + +<p>"Disappeared?... Not all of them! ... the +invisible herd on the banks of the creek which +prowled round our camp on the evening of our +first arrival, that herd, one of the members of +which Ngur described to me as an elephant with +long hair and a mane, was nothing else than a +herd of mammoths!"</p> + +<p>A cry of stupefaction escaped from the young +man:</p> + +<p>"Living mammoths? You are crazy!"</p> + +<p>The priest did not flinch. Quite calmly he assented.</p> + +<p>"That's exactly what I said to myself when the +thought came to me the first time with a shock.... +I did not want to believe it.... I took it for +granted that there must be a race of elephants as +yet unknown. Then other ideas came to me which +had already been rising obscurely at the back of +my brain, other ideas which my successive discoveries +have clarified and confirmed...."</p> + +<p>"Other ideas?" said Pierre. "What ones?"</p> + +<p>The missionary gave him a long look. He hesitated; +then shook his head in token of refusal.</p> + +<p>"No, don't ask me! In two cases already you +have questioned me and each time I have asked you +to wait: this will be the last time. Have patience +yet for a few hours. I do not want to speak before +being certain of what I say. I don't mind your +believing me crazy! To change the subject, here +we are at the end of the forest, and the further +cliffs are before us. We have therefore crossed +the entire width of the ravine. Now the question +is to get near the caves."</p> + +<p>Pierre turned about. Before them, running +along almost at the foot of the cliff a hollow way +under the trees stretched in a southerly direction. +They turned and followed it. It wandered about, +making sharp curves, going round swampy spots +and avoiding rocky masses overgrown and buried +in vegetation. Little by little the trees began to +get smaller and shorter and thinned out. The path +broadened and finally came to an end in an open +circle surrounded by trees. Between the slim +trunks they could see that the day was beginning +to fade.</p> + +<p>The two men hurried on. The tree-trunks became +fewer and more scattered; masses of bushes +succeeded to them. Gliding between these, Lursac +and Father Ravennes came out opposite the left +bank of the swamp. The failing light threw a +mantle of softness over the valley, above which +the clouds and mists stretched to the level plateau +forming, as it were, a fleecy and delicate tent. The +scene which they had observed at dawn they now +saw from another angle. The marsh was not as big +as they had thought it. Between it and the cliff +in which the caves were a grassy way stretched +as far as the plain: beyond that the second forest +stood in a compact mass. Looking back, Pierre +saw on his left the edge of the wood which they +had quit some hours earlier. At the same time +he made out the cliff down which they had come.</p> + +<p>A hoarse cry suddenly forced itself from his +throat.</p> + +<p>"The scream ... the scream this morning!" +He pointed out the wall of rock against which, +halfway up, two corpses attached to a rope, <i>their</i> +rope doubtless, were hanging.</p> + +<p>The missionary looked back swiftly and his face +seemed to shrivel, it went white and his lips trembled.</p> + +<p>"Ngur and Pâa," he murmured almost in a whisper.</p> + +<p>The breeze, forerunner of the evening dusk, began +to blow, making the trees rustle; while against +the gray rock wall the naked bodies of the two +guides swung gently. Above them on the edge of +the plateau three elephants of gigantic proportions +were walking in file; and against the mauve +background of the sky their hairy bulk and their +curved tusks showed up with extraordinary distinctness.</p> + +<p>The missionary stretched his hand towards +them.</p> + +<p>"Mammoths!" said he, in a voice strangely calm.</p> + +<p>But Pierre saw his hand tremble.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</h2> +</div> + +<h3>BACK IN THE STONE AGE</h3> + + +<p>Lursac, the first to turn away his head, +touched Father Ravennes' arm.</p> + +<p>"We no longer have any choice," he said. "If we +wish to get out of here we shall have to find our +way up to the temple, or at any rate climb one +of the cliffs."</p> + +<p>The missionary reluctantly turning from his +contemplation of the mammoths shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No," said he, "they are all smooth and absolutely +unscalable."</p> + +<p>"Then it remains to discover this entrance."</p> + +<p>"I have thought of that," said the priest, +"but...."</p> + +<p>"But?" questioned Pierre.</p> + +<p>"What can we hope from that?... Think of +it, Lursac, we are two and they, up there in the +temple...."</p> + +<p>The young man shrugged his shoulders with restrained +impatience:</p> + +<p>"Have you another plan to propose to me?" he +broke in.</p> + +<p>And as the missionary shook his head, he went +on bitterly:</p> + +<p>"And in any case that's the only chance that +we have of finding Wanda, perhaps of saving +her...."</p> + +<p>He looked at the priest and repeated still more +forcibly:</p> + +<p>"We must find the entrance to the temple and +manage to get in somehow. After that, it is in the +hands of God!"</p> + +<p>The missionary saw him make a gesture which +spoke of both resolution and despair.</p> + +<p>"So be it!" said he. "According to the directions +of Hmon, the sanctuary faced towards the Post, +and consequently to the south. As we have come +on it from behind, it is there, towards the south, +that we shall find it."</p> + +<p>He stretched his hand in front of him towards +the extremity of the ravine which an angle in one +of the cliffs prevented them from seeing.</p> + +<p>"And what about the caves?" asked Pierre, surprised, +"I thought—as you did for the matter of +that...."</p> + +<p>"No," said the priest, "no, I have come to a different +conclusion since then...."</p> + +<p>He hesitated, and his voice took on a peculiar +intonation while he added:</p> + +<p>"The caverns are used for ... something else ... at +least I think so.... Look!"</p> + +<p>Together they raised their heads in the direction +of the dark openings. They were not now more +than a hundred yards from them and they could +distinguish details clearly.</p> + +<p>The darkness which was gathering prevented +their seeing into the interiors, but each of the +caves had in front of it a platform with a gentle +grassy slope leading down to the valley. The +mouths of the caves, cut roughly and irregularly +into the rock, remained empty and no sound or +sign of life gave token that they were inhabited.</p> + +<p>Slowly the dusk fell. Little by little the surroundings +lost their distinctness: the ceiling of +fog began to flow downward between the cliffs, +while above the two forests at each end of the +great depression and over the surface of the swamp +a fine mist floated and spread. From the opposite +end of the valley a confused murmuring arose. +Astonished, the missionary looked across the marsh +and searched the plain. By turns, visible and disappearing +among the clumps of trees, he could see +a brown spot. At the same time the noise which +had surprised him became more distinct. It was +a heavy beating of the ground like a hurried stamping +of a herd in flight. He touched Pierre's arm. +Both of them gazed eagerly. The spot grew larger, +came nearer, and disappeared into a streak of fog +and reappeared suddenly at the corner of a copse.</p> + +<p>"Buffaloes!" whispered Pierre.</p> + +<p>The missionary made no answer.</p> + +<p>The herd was hurrying across the plain. Following +the bank of the marsh opposite which it had +debouched from the wood, it gained the grassy +runway, spread along the bottom of the cliff and +passed in front of the caves. The hammering hoofs +mingled in a frenzied rush. The troop of over two +hundred beasts tore along with their heads lowered, +and the tall grasses mowed down by their weight +were torn apart and trodden into the ground. The +herd was rushing straight for the forest in which +the two men were hiding. Now the animals could +be seen with clearness and the priest shot a glance +at Pierre as he corrected him:</p> + +<p>"Buffaloes? No,—aurochs!"</p> + +<p>The beasts galloping side by side in thick ranks +formed a single brown mass. Leading the herd, a +great male bounded along, holding his horns high +and bellowing furiously. He passed in front of +Lursac and the missionary, bearing away slightly +to the right. His left haunch was bleeding; three +arrows were sticking up to the heads in his tawny +hide; in his withers, swinging at every bound, they +could see the handle of a great axe sticking out. +In a second he was buried in the shadows of the +forest, and behind him with the rush of an avalanche +the entire herd swept under the trees breaking +down the bushes, tearing the thickets apart +and smashing everything in their way. In another +minute the thunder of their flight, mixed with bellowings, +was separated from the observers by a +screen of leaves and gradually faded away into +the distance leaving silence behind it.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes recalled to his mind the great +male who had charged galloping at the head of the +herd, his vast size, his long legs, the crinkled hair +of his head and neck, his great wicked-looking muzzle, +his low-lying horns.</p> + +<p>"Yes, ..." said he, "aurochs! The giant bulls +of the quaternary epoch, of which the entire species +is now extinct...."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Pierre, "the hunters! What of the +hunters! You saw the arrows, the axe?..."</p> + +<p>The missionary gave him a quick look and turned +round towards the plains.</p> + +<p>"The hunters?" said he. "Well, look, there they +are!"</p> + +<p>Sudden emotion seemed to overcome him, his +features were strained into an expression of intense +expectation.</p> + +<p>In his turn, Pierre turned to look.</p> + +<p>At first he only saw a number of small dark +specks, scarcely visible, which moved at the end +of the valley and gradually came closer until they +formed a single group which moved towards the +marsh. Following the passage torn by the herd of +aurochs a few moments before, they came along +slowly and still without any regular formation. +They reached the swamp and followed along the +bank. The mist which floated on the waters prevented +the watchers from seeing them clearly. +They finally arrived at the entrance of the grassy +runway and Pierre began to be able to see them +better. There were about forty of them, divided +in three groups following close after one another. +First of all, alone, walking with great steps, was +a Man. It was upon him that Lursac and the missionary's +attention became concentrated.</p> + +<p>Night was falling; a dusk of luminous mauve +enwrapped the scene, flinging over everything a +veil of indefiniteness and beauty. The entire plain, +with its forests sunk in the shadows of the distance, +with its gray walls and it green grasses and +the silvery surface of its swampy lake, gave the impression +of a picture harmoniously and cunningly +put together by some classic artist.</p> + +<p>On the background of this sylvan scene the Man +advanced. Soon he was within three hundred +yards of them, ... two hundred. His outline, an +outline of strength, tall and vigorous, became +larger and more distinct. Certain details standing +out little by little from the vagueness caught +the attention. First of all his raiment; a simple +animal skin with long brown fur, shaped like a +chasuble, which fell down to the middle of his +thighs and was bound to him by a cord; then his +weapons—a heavy club which he balanced on his +bare arm, a lance on which he leant now and again +with his left hand.</p> + +<p>The hunter was by this time at the foot of the +caves scarcely one hundred yards away from the +missionary and Lursac. They saw him in profile. +He had stopped, apparently waiting for the rest +of the troop to come up. He lifted his arm and +made a sign, and his call mounted in the silence:</p> + +<p>"<i>O ... ô ... iê ... êp ... iê ... ê ... êp.</i>"</p> + +<p>He turned slowly, and his face became visible; +red-skinned, crude, large and low-browed, with +high cheek bones and eyes deeply set—a face simple +and uncivilized with something savage and yet +sweet in it at the same time, a fierce and powerful +face, framed in long reddish hair falling to the +shoulders....</p> + +<p>The missionary seized the young man by the +arm, gripping him with almost painful violence:</p> + +<p>"The quaternary man ... the ancestor of the +human race. The man of Cro-Magnon and of Mentone +... alive! ... alive!..."</p> + +<p>He trembled; his voice, hardly understandable, +seemed to scrape his throat painfully. He gave +the young man no time to give vent to his astonishment; +he went on:</p> + +<p>"Yes ... you heard correctly.... I am not +drunk! ... this is not a nightmare.... The +Red Gods: a clan of prehistoric men who continue +to lead here in this deep recess which walls them +in from the rest of the world the same life that +they have lived for thirty thousand years, and +everything is explained. The mystery with which +the sorceresses envelop this region, the death with +which they strike those who wish to penetrate it, +the flint arms which bestrew the entire district, +the legend of the Living Gods, everything! ... +everything!..."</p> + +<p>"But," said Pierre.</p> + +<p>"I am sure of it ... sure of it ... I suspected +it long ago. The whole thing, tangled and +obscure, has been turning over and over in my +mind for some time. When I heard Hmon pronounce +those words: the Red Gods ... the Red +Ones,<a id="FNanchor_16_16" href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> that is to say the earliest ... yes ... at +that moment I began to.... However, I was +doubtful. It appeared to me so fantastic that I did +not, could not believe it. I looked for some other +explanation. But now the truth is standing +there before me. However incredible it is, I cannot +disbelieve it. You have seen the face of the +Man. He belongs to no existing race. His appearance +is neither that of a Moï, a Chinese, a +Lao-ese nor yet of a European. These features are +those of the primitive Mongoloids, of the primeval +ancestors of the human race."</p> + + +<p>An immense joy had taken possession of the soul +of the scientist. He raised his head proudly, his +voice filled out with sonorous resonance.</p> + +<p>"This extraordinary thing <i>we</i> have been the first +to see. It is we, Lursac, <i>we</i> who have made this +astounding discovery. All the old disputes of the +schools, all the theories about which the seeker +and scientist argue, the great problem of the origin +of humanity—we have found their solution! We!... +We!..."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Meanwhile the tribe had begun the ascent of the +slope leading to the caves. The hunter with the +club walked at their head. Behind him came eight +men carrying on their shoulders a litter made of +leaves and branches. On it lay the body of an +animal. Of its monstrous bulk nothing could be +seen but one of its enormous black hairy paws +which hung over the side of the improvised +stretcher and swayed gently with the motion of its +carriers.</p> + +<p>Then in a compact group the other hunters followed +slowly. The sound of their voices could be +heard, now and again dominated by a high guttural +note. They were all armed with lance and +pointed axe, and all alike clad in dark reddish furs. +Their faces all showed the same characteristic features, +and were framed by the same long red hair +which fell round their shoulders in bright tawny +locks.</p> + +<p>Although they were of a stature well above the +normal, they seemed less finely built and less harmoniously +developed in every way than the Man +who walked at their head and was evidently their +chief. At a sign from him they stopped.</p> + +<p>With his face turned towards the cave's opening, +about fifty yards ahead of him, the hunter once +again emitted his hoarse cry:</p> + +<p>"<i>O ... ô ... iê ... êp.</i>..."</p> + +<p>And after him the men took up the call and sent +it ringing across the valley. For a moment they +all stood motionless, faces turned towards the +platforms of the caves. Already the night was +stealing along the cliffs. The dark mouth of the +caverns became indistinct and only the narrow +platforms which stood in front of them still caught +a little light from the bluish dusk.</p> + +<p>There was silence. Then other voices thinner +and less strong, worn voices of old men, clear high +voices of women and children sounded through the +valley:</p> + +<p>"<i>O ... ô ... iê ... êp.</i>..."</p> + +<p>Dark forms swarming out of the caves ran on +to the platforms and leaned over. A few of them +separated from the mass and began to descend to +meet the men. A last ray of light shone slanting +on the little hill. The troop of men had resumed +their march. The darkness thickened, their silhouettes +became indistinct. On the shoulder of +the hill the ray of light narrowed and retreated. +The chief of the clan first, and after him the body +of the hunters, reached it and passed through it, +and their slow procession crossing through the +pencil of pale gold again went into the darkness; +while before the caverns the fires, lighting up one +by one, pierced the obscurity with their seven-fold +spears of red light.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</h2> +</div> + +<h3>OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE</h3> + + +<p>The two white men were overcome with a feeling +of stupefaction.</p> + +<p>The night, bitter cold, descended upon them and +chilled their bodies, but they did not feel the bite +of the cold: they could think of nothing but watching. +Settled on the platforms the tribe was taking +its evening meal. Before the fire silhouettes were +ranged like phantoms, and their shadows, grotesquely +exaggerated, were flung against the rock, +where they jerked about and disappeared suddenly +with enormous gestures and fantastic distortions. +A smell of roasting flesh floated down the valley +in thick waves. Now and again a body, elongated +by the flickering light of the fires, appeared momentarily, +and the brown fur with which he was +clothed shone out for a second with a bizarre effect. +The hunters were grouped round the fires +in bands of six; some women, a dozen or so of children +and some old men joined them. Behind them +yawned the caverns. From time to time could be +heard the crackling of a stick in the fires or the +snapping of a bone under the blows of a hatchet.</p> + +<p>When the meal was over the feasters gave themselves +up to a period of relaxation. The tribe, +gorged with food and stupefied by the heat of the +fires, lay lounging about the platforms. Men's +voices, rough and monotonous, rose and fell. They +spoke little, accompanying their short phrases with +gestures and signs. Here and there a laugh rang +out and echoed in crude and guttural tones against +the cliff. In a corner of the nearest platform near +the opening of the cave the skin of the beast, the +flesh of which had provided the feast, was drying, +stretched out on four stakes with its head hanging +down. In the clear light of the fires it stood out +distinctly. The missionary examined with profound +interest the enormous black hairy pelt. +The massive skull surmounted by a rounded forehead +accentuated by two great lumps, the gaping +muzzle with its formidable teeth left no doubt in +his mind.</p> + +<p>"<i>Ursus spelæus</i>—the cave bear," he whispered, +"the usual prey of primitive man, and the one of +which most bones have been found in the caves of +Aurignac, of Sainte-Reine, of Fontaine, of Moutier +and of Lhern.</p> + +<p>The old men, the women and children, now rising, +went back into their caverns. A youngster, before +disappearing, stopped for a moment in front of the +skin and amused himself by banging the heavy +muzzle with slaps of his open hand. The enormous +snout thus put into motion began to swing backwards +and forwards, while at each stroke a drop +of blood fell, which the child caught in mid-air in +the palm of his hand and licked up.</p> + +<p>A sharp command sounded from the group of +men, and the youngster stopped his game, hastened +into the cave and was lost to sight.</p> + +<p>Left alone, the hunters spread round the fires +prolonged their session. From time to time one of +them would rise, draw his powerful body erect and +give a long stretch, then sitting down once more +would stretch his hands towards the flame. Others +worked: a round stone in their heavy hands, and +another piece of stone between their knees, they +shaped the flint by little precise, minute blows, at +which, sparking, the chips flew up and scattered +around the workman. Now and again, neglecting +their task for a minute, they lifted their heads and +looked down into the bottom of the ravine. At +such moments their faces, lit up with the red +gleams of the fires, revealed themselves as primitive +and violent.</p> + +<p>Two hours passed thus; then as the fog became +denser they shook themselves one by one and disappeared +into their caves.</p> + +<p>The empty platforms suddenly seemed larger: +the fires, piled up for the night, shot their lights +higher and further before the caverns: their circles +of purple light were the only things left to watch +throughout the night.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>They waited another hour, then Lursac, turning +towards the priest, said:</p> + +<p>"They must be asleep now ... let us go on."</p> + +<p>They began to move forward cautiously, and +stole along the foot of the cliff. Keeping under +cover of the shadows at its base they passed +quickly in front of the caves and gained the shelter +of the grassy passage. They worked in the direction +of the plain and the further forest: the +grasses among which they slowly forced their way +came up to their waists and their clothes were soon +nothing but wet, cold sheaths bound tight against +their bodies.</p> + +<p>At last they reached the plain, and the going +became easier and faster. When they turned their +heads from time to time they could see behind them +like a long silvered plaque, each time a little +smaller and less distinct, the motionless surface of +the marsh, and on the left, high up, the seven fires +marking the entrance to the caverns. In front of +them the threshold of the wood towards which they +were moving became clearer every moment, and +between the cliffs which were beginning to close in +towards each other the darkness seemed denser +and denser.</p> + +<p>Pierre walked ahead. With an instinctive motion, +thinking of the skin of the cave-bear killed by +the clan, he loosened his revolver in its holster and +pulled it out when they found themselves among +the first trees of the forest. However, this second +forest proved to be less dense than the one which +they had crossed in the morning, and it was seamed +with long tracks, narrow paths it is true, but quite +possible to follow. One of them bearing somewhat +to the right followed close to the base of the cliff. +This one they took. As near as they were able to +make it out, it ran in a southerly direction following +closely the very juts and hollows of the cliff. +They followed it for a long time. Occasionally the +flight of some invisible animal, an unknown roaring, +or a cry which they did not recognize made +them stop. At other times the bushes thrust apart +by the passage of some animal that they could not +see crashed together loudly, the noise being magnified +by the stillness of the night, and they stood +rooted to the spot until the noises ceased. The +alarm past, they pursued their way. Fatigue, however, +began to weigh on their limbs and to cloud +their minds. As they walked their motions became +no more than a succession of automatic movements. +The dark, however, now became less +opaque and a diffused light began to flow between +the leaves. Raising their heads in the middle of +a clearing, they saw above them, bound in a watery +halo, a dull reddish moon swimming in the sky. A +few minutes afterwards they stopped. The forest +had come to an end. Between it and the extremity +of the ravine a belt of ground studded with low +bushes sloped gradually upward and terminated in +a dark line which seemed to be that of a foundation +wall, above which, rising to about half the height +of the cliffs against which their irregular mass was +silhouetted, buildings arose. Against the grayish +sky, roofs could be seen in profile, and springing +above them, still higher and more clearly visible, +the pointed shadows of four towers in a circle.</p> + +<p>"The temple!" whispered Pierre.</p> + +<p>Without making any answer the priest continued +his advance. Gliding from bush to bush +they made their way up towards the buildings and +reached a sort of long, narrow platform. Before +them in the solid shadow stretched a heaped-up +mass of rocks.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes looked up; the roofs seemed far +above him.</p> + +<p>"Let us rest till daylight," he advised, sitting +down.</p> + +<p>Pierre assented. An immense fatigue gnawed at +his powers of endurance. His arms and legs were +stiff with strain and his heavy lids weighed upon +his eyes. He flung himself down on the ground +and stretched out alongside of the missionary.</p> + +<p>For a moment his mind remained sentient and +he began to make plans and to consider chances for +the rescue of Wanda.</p> + +<p>The temple, swathed in darkness, seemed deserted. +There was no noise, no light. The moon, +covered with a blanket of clouds, disappeared, and +suddenly the darkness became thicker yet.</p> + +<p>The cry of an owl somewhere in the direction of +the forest rang through the night, and from the +sallow down-bearing sky a cold mist floated.</p> + +<p>Overpowered by exhaustion, Pierre fell asleep. +The priest bent over him. Twisted in an uncomfortable +position, his face creased with nervous +lines, the young man began talking out loud in his +sleep, and his incoherent words as well as his +panting breath revealed the nightmare from which +he was suffering. In his fevered brain recollections, +images drawn from the depths of his memory—his +arrival at the Post, the course of the expedition—were +mixed with visions called up by +Father Ravennes: the continent of Gondwana and +its vanished fauna; its prehistoric inhabitants; +giant trees of Africa, Australia, America; the +aurochs; the death of Ngur and Pâa, fantastic silhouettes +of the temple; the sorceresses; Jieng, the +mammoths—were all tangled together to form a +grotesque and disordered circle turning about one +clear central figure that dominated them, that of +Wanda.</p> + +<p>The missionary, perceiving how he suffered, +thought of waking him; but he shook his head:</p> + +<p>"What is the good?" he murmured. "There is +nothing to do now but to have patience; and however +tormented his sleep is, it will at any rate +enable him to gather a little strength!"</p> + +<p>Thoughtfully he watched the sombre mass of +the buildings stretching upwards in the darkness. +The cold made him shiver, so he got up and walked +a while along the platform. Then he came back +to his place by Lursac, and sitting with his back +against a rock he took his rosary and slowly began +to recite the prayers.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</h2> +</div> + +<h3>INSIDE THE TEMPLE</h3> + + +<p>The dawn awoke Pierre with a start. He +shivered and looked round him with an empty +stare. Then, memory coming back to him suddenly, +he got up and his eyes sought Father Ravennes but +did not find him.</p> + +<p>Beginning to be uneasy he called out:</p> + +<p>"Ravennes!"</p> + +<p>"Here.... Come to me."</p> + +<p>Turning his head in the direction of the voice he +saw the priest who, hidden between two lumps of +rock some twenty yards to the left, was beckoning +to him. Rapidly the young man crawled to his +side and crouched down next to him.</p> + +<p>The missionary explained:</p> + +<p>"We are at the very base of the temple. Turn +slightly to the right ... yes, there it is.... As +an observation post we could not have thought of +anything better than this. Now be silent and let +us watch...."</p> + +<p>Pierre asked:</p> + +<p>"Nothing has stirred?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing," said the missionary.</p> + +<p>Carefully lifting his head Pierre looked round +the scene. Day was coming—a dull, unpleasant +day, shrouded in a thick fog through which the +light could only penetrate very slowly. As the +mist rose, the end of the ravine revealed itself. +First of all, the rocky mass on which the temple +was built became visible. Enormous blocks of +stone heaped together rose towards the sky and at +each side reached the very walls of the fissure +which they here filled entirely. The ravine at this +point was no more than a gorge, three hundred +yards across, deeply overshadowed by its vertical +walls. Out of this chaotic pile of rock the foundations +of the temple rose. They gripped and mixed +themselves with the stone, completing its rugged +outline, and carrying it upwards with the very +same rough gray exterior, so that in places Lursac +could not even distinguish where the rock ended +and the building began.</p> + +<p>Gradually, as the mist lifted higher, the two +men were able to perceive a dozen doors let into +the stone at regular intervals in the foundation +wall. The ensemble of the buildings, however, +remained still invisible. For some little while +longer they continued to be hidden; then a shaft +of sunlight drove its way through the mist and +splashed the cliff on the right with light. The +mist drew away and the entire temple stood +revealed before them little by little. First of all +the four towers of unequal height, built up in tiers, +and together resembling one of those slender tiaras +worn by Cambodian and Siamese idols; then the +long, irregular, clear line of the roofs, and finally +the gigantic and wonderful façade, ornamented +with porticoes, broken with chapels and pierced by +innumerable windows all barred with rows of +small columns.</p> + +<p>The voice of the priest trembled with emotion.</p> + +<p>"A Kmer temple," said he. "<i>The</i> Temple ... +purer in style and more magnificent than Angkor-Wat +itself, and certainly more ancient!"</p> + +<p>He had stood up and was staring at the enormous +building framed between the cliffs of the +ravine:</p> + +<p>"One hundred and fifty yards high.... Prodigious!"</p> + +<p>Forgetful of the place and of the circumstances, +remembering no longer their danger or the sorceresses +or Wanda, he gave himself up to the pride of +his discovery, to the admiration which overcame +him. He almost laughed.</p> + +<p>"Yes.... <i>The</i> Temple! The model, the jewel, +the original which those that came after copied +... and that in the depths of the Lao-ese forest, +among peoples as uncivilized and as primitive as +the beasts! Well, then? Who undertook this +gigantic and surpassing work.... Who ... and +why <i>here</i>? I...."</p> + +<p>He was suddenly silent. Pierre, pushing him +back, whispered in his ear:</p> + +<p>"Quiet! Be silent!..."</p> + +<p>The priest saw him point with his finger towards +the forest, on the edge of which a human being had +just become visible. He was strangely clothed in +a brown fur which covered his shoulders and +waved about his figure. On his head was set the +muzzle of an ox surmounted with horns curved in +the form of a lyre. The man, walking along the +edge of the wood, reached the foot of the wall, then +he crossed the narrow belt of ground and came to +the rocks. Standing upright on one of them he +raised his head towards the façade of the +sanctuary.</p> + +<p>He was scarcely thirty yards from Lursac and +Ravennes, and against the gray front of the temple +his figure was silhouetted with precision. He was +very tall, with astonishingly long legs, a narrow +waist and large, strong shoulders. Turning towards +the plain, he first of all watched the forest; then +his glance slid along the cliff and came back to the +buildings, ran over them rapidly and then fixed +itself on one of the windows. He cried with a +ringing, and surprisingly sweet, voice:</p> + +<p>"<i>O ... ô ... iê ... iêp....</i>"</p> + +<p>Pierre and the missionary recognized him at the +same moment: the hunter with the club, the chief +who had marched at the head of the clan on their +return from the hunt on the evening before.</p> + +<p>Suddenly he dashed forward and began to climb +the stony blocks. He mounted towards the temple +by supple and accurate leaps, bounding from one +stone to the other and walking with long strides +when the ground permitted it. Each one of his +movements and of his attitudes gave a curious +impression of strength and grace. He suggested +one of those great animals of the cat tribe, fierce +and full of vital strength at the same time: his +powerful muscular body had the same sinuous +movement combined with suddenness of action, the +same sure and silent footfall.</p> + +<p>He was now at the very foot of the temple. In +front of him stood the foundation, with its rugged +wall broken by the line of doorways; further up, +on a jutting balcony, was another row of doors, of +which each one was flanked by a window barred +with small columns.</p> + +<p>The Man looked at them carefully. He seemed +to hesitate. Then deciding, he climbed the whole +height of the foundation-wall. The irregularities +of the stone which he gripped with his feet, his +hands and his knees, were worn in places and gave +way under him; but with a twist of his body he +balanced himself afresh and continued to mount. +At last he reached the cornice and drew himself up +on it, and then ran along the narrow balcony, +coming to a stop towards the middle of the façade +under one of the windows.</p> + +<p>Standing on tiptoes he raised his arms, seized +the auroch's skin by the horns with which his head +was ornamented, and with a sweeping gesture of +one who makes an offering, he hung it up on a jutting +piece of stone. Then he remained motionless, +his face pressed against the columns of the +window.</p> + +<p>Lursac and Ravennes had breathlessly watched +his ascent. With their eyes fixed on the opening +under which the brown auroch's pelt was now +hanging, they noticed with astonishment its extraordinary +appearance. It was surrounded with +peculiar offerings, great aurochs' muzzles, heads +of stags, skins of enormous bears, bunches of half-faded +flowers, bundles of fruit, barbaric collars of +wild beasts' claws, and in an angle, set on the same +support, a comb of honey from which bright yellow +tears of juice were dropping. Pierre and the missionary +looked at one another, the same question +came to their minds: what was this strange worship? +To whom was it addressed? These Red +Gods, these prehistoric men miraculously preserved +and perpetuated, these Gods which were +worshipped, did they in their turn worship Something +or Somebody?</p> + +<p>With a shake of his head the priest signified the +impossibility of solving the problem.</p> + +<p>In any case they had not the time to think of it +very much longer. The Man up there abandoned +his position of contemplation, and their attention +was once again concentrated on him. Without +giving himself the trouble to climb down the whole +height of the foundations, he calculated for a +moment, leaped, and covering the ten feet or so +which the wall measured, he recovered himself by +a simple bending of the knees. Then, once again +turned towards the buildings, he looked at the +strange window. After which he set out towards +the valley, disappeared between the rocky blocks +and reappeared further off at the top of a rounded +granite mass, ran down towards the plain, crossed +it hurriedly and re-entered the forest.</p> + +<p>The sun, by this time already hot, had dissipated +the fog. Lursac pointed out to the priest the dozen +doors set in the wall.</p> + +<p>"There is the way we must enter the temple," +said he.</p> + +<p>With a nod the priest assented.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we must try and force one of them at +random, it doesn't matter which! Look, this one, +which is opposite to us."</p> + +<p>They had now risen and, in their turn hiding +themselves as much as possible in their ascent, they +climbed towards the temple.</p> + +<p>A mass of granite formed a sort of narrow parapet +in front of the door and on it they stopped +bewildered: in the stupendous wall they could see +the door in its doorway and it was half open. +Pierre pushed it gently, and with his revolver +drawn ready to fire entered it. Behind him, the +missionary followed.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Thick gloom and clammy cold struck them in the +face and clung to them as they entered. They +shivered. Motionless, with every faculty on the +stretch, they waited and listened. The heavy damp +silence reassured them. The missionary struck a +match. With a dry scratch the tiny flame ignited, +lighting up dimly the rocky walls and discovering +to them, close by the door by which they had +entered, a tripod with its bundle of resinous +branches and dry leaves prepared for lighting.</p> + +<p>"Wait," said Pierre, "I will shut the door, then +we will set fire to this."</p> + +<p>A few minutes later, by the light of the fire they +were able to examine the cell in which they found +themselves. It turned out to be square and disproportionately +high, practically forming a cube. +The walls were gray, on the floor of beaten earth a +lance and some hatchets with heavy flint heads +were lying about. On one side was the door by +which they had made their entrance: on the opposite +side, a gallery was visible, separated from the +cell by a row of columns set close together and +reaching from the ground to the vaulted ceiling: +on the left a stone wall: on the right a second wall, +but pierced by another door, heavy and re-inforced +with metal work, and furnished with a heavy iron +lock. Pierre, going up to it looked at it closely, +felt it and tried with the help of his pocketknife +to make it work. The bolt of the lock rattled and +moved. He tried harder, but the blade of his knife +broke with a snap and he gave a growl of fury.</p> + +<p>"Curse it!... One must use violence. So +much the worse, but we have no choice."</p> + +<p>He flung a look round and noticed the axes. +But already the missionary, bending down, had +picked one up. He swung it about for a moment +and fitted the haft of it well into his hand.</p> + +<p>Advancing, he pushed Pierre on one side.</p> + +<p>"As soon as the door gives way," he said, "we +will rush through. The main hall must be far +enough away for us not to be heard. Anyhow we +have no other way of doing it. Are you ready?"</p> + +<p>He drew up his great body, raised his arms to +their full height and then heavily brought the club +down with his full strength. The lock rang and +sparks flew, while fragments of the flint were scattered +around. Without waiting, he repeated the +action several times in succession with his full +strength. Under the echoing vault the noise of +the blows was magnified and made a shattering +noise. The lock, injured and finally broken, gave +way revealing its mechanism. With a last blow, +which shattered the wood around it, he made it +leap from the door. Flinging the axe behind him, +the missionary, with a violent blow of his shoulder, +pushed back the heavy door and flung himself forward +followed by Pierre. The flickering light of +the fire lighted up the entrance of a subterranean +passage. They could distinguish the first steps of +a narrow stairway of which the rest was lost in the +darkness. They commenced to climb it cautiously +and soon the shadows closed around them. The +priest mounted slowly, trying the ground at each +step. His hands stretched out before him, Pierre, +his revolver ready to fire, counted the steps one +by one.</p> + +<p>"Eight ... nine ... ten ... eleven...."</p> + +<p>"Lursac!"</p> + +<p>The sharp call brought the young man to a +sudden standstill; he cried excitedly:</p> + +<p>"Ravennes!"</p> + +<p>The cry of the priest, now indistinct, came twice +more.</p> + +<p>"Lursac!... Lursac!..."</p> + +<p>Pierre ran forward and crashed into and thrust +aside invisible forms. He heard the labored +breathing of Father Ravennes, and a warning +voice:</p> + +<p>"Look out!... We are attacked!... Try +to...."</p> + +<p>At the same time, pushing on him from all directions, +a mass of bodies suddenly materializing out +of the night flung itself upon him, carried him off +his feet and overthrew him. His head wrapped in +a thick cloth, his legs encircled, he fell. About him +other bodies, clinging to his, fell with him and +rolled over him. There was the sound of stifled +oaths, groans and curses. Then once more all was +silent, and he felt that he was being carried away.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</h2> +</div> + +<h3>THE LAW OF GONDWANA</h3> + + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>It is written: that those who wish to +know—may know. This is the Law of the Red +Gods—the Law of the barren wives, the Law of +Gondwana. But those of our blood only—and +among those only women and the servants of the +Gods—may hear it and know it without dying.</i>"</p> +</div> + +<p>The voice which was chanting stopped and an +order sounded:</p> + +<p>"Untie their legs and take off their veils that +they may see. The law is the law."</p> + +<p>Pierre, freed from the cloth which had been +wrapped round his head, looked about him with +curiosity. He found himself in the middle of an +interior open court, square in shape, of which the +four sides were lined with galleries one above the +other, narrowing as they ascended, and forming a +tangle of recesses and stalls and compartments, +over which innumerable canopies and roofs twisted +into spiral pinnacles jutted out, tumbling in all +directions, straddling over each other, crowding +one upon the other in an intricate mass.... The +centre of the court was hollowed out, forming a +sort of basin paved with large, gray, flat stones, +the spaces between which were green with moss. +It was in this basin that they lay, he and the missionary. +Very far up in the centre of the grotesque +and involved crowding of the roofs a section +of blue sky shone. Under the galleries the crowd +of sorceresses was massed. Among the twisted +pillars and the square columns could be seen +groups of faces, scarred and twisted with every +form of unimaginable deformity, but all bending +eagerly towards the two men. How many of them +were there? One hundred?... Two hundred?... Perhaps +more!</p> + +<p>Pierre and the missionary examined them +eagerly. They looked from one gallery to another, +inspecting the compartments, roving up and down +the long façades; and first one, and then the other, +suddenly cried out:</p> + +<p>"<i>Wanda!</i>"</p> + +<p>"<i>Mademoiselle Redeski!</i>"</p> + +<p>There she was, standing in one of the galleries, +bending forward with her eyes fixed on them. The +roof of the gallery in which she stood flung its +shadow over her so that the upper part of her +figure, clad in a black tunic, was in full blaze of +light while the rest of her remained in the shade. +She was surrounded with sorceresses. She hung +over a little further. The sun lit up the masses of +her hair so that she seemed haloed with pale gold. +With her arms stretched wide she called:</p> + +<p>"Pierre!"</p> + +<p>The young man made a motion of rage. She saw +that he was ready to rush blindly towards her, and +called out hurriedly:</p> + +<p>"No ... no ... don't stir.... Presently ... after +the...."</p> + +<p>Then she fell suddenly silent. Around her the +sorceresses were jostling one another, drowning +her voice with their ironical laughter and sneers.</p> + +<p>Motionless, his face turned towards the young +woman, Pierre looked at her long and searchingly. +Their glances met and mingled, and their love, +stronger than the sense of danger, flamed up and +flowed through them, overwhelming them both +with the same emotion and the same hopes. It +seemed to them that they were close to one +another, so that their lips at the same moment +gave and received an imaginary kiss, and they +smiled, taking no thought of their sorry plight.</p> + +<p>Once more an order tore through the silence:</p> + +<p>"Hear ye all.... This is the true word."</p> + +<p>Their ecstasy was shattered.</p> + +<p>Pierre, turning towards the voice which had +just sounded, recognized Jieng: Jieng who, now +clad in a tunic of white silk and seated in a stall +of carved stone decorated with blazing gold, was +presiding over the strange assembly. She bent a +triumphant grin on the young man and her lids +flickered when their eyes met.</p> + +<p>Then Lursac looked at the missionary beside +him.</p> + +<p>"A kind of trial I suppose," said he.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the priest, "but listen!"</p> + +<p>The chant continued:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>At the time when the Gods descended on +the world the temple was built—built with their +hands. And hundreds and thousands of moons +have since then rolled into darkness. Afterwards +the Gods created peoples and animals and last of +all they created the Law—their Law.</i>..."</p> +</div> + +<p>Once more Pierre turned to face Jieng. She sat +motionless in a hieratic pose copied from Siamese +idols: at her feet crouched the woman who was +chanting; and, as she read, the yellow parchment +inscribed in unknown characters unrolling, +stretched itself along the floor and seemed to glide +towards the two men.</p> + +<p>Jieng made a sign.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>And in order that their will should be +obeyed they called together the women who live +beyond the mountains in the cold white country +and said to them: This is our Law of which you +shall be the servants, and your power shall be +great, for you shall be the makers and the mothers +of the Moï people—the free people of the forest.</i>"</p> +</div> + +<p>A murmur arose, and a great wave of pride +tingled in the scarred faces of the priestesses and +shone in their eyes.</p> + +<p>Father Ravennes interrupted a moment the +rosary which he was saying in a whisper and +caught Pierre by the elbow:</p> + +<p>"What do you intend to do?" said he calmly.</p> + +<p>Jerking himself free, the young man walked +towards the high priestess. When he was only +separated from her by the edge of the basin in +which he stood he turned his eyes upon her. For +a minute their hates flashed out and Pierre cried +roughly:</p> + +<p>"Your religious laws don't interest us! What +we want is that white woman whom you carried +away here and whom you are holding against her +will. Do you understand?"</p> + +<p>Jieng did not deign to answer. She contented +herself with laying her finger on the shoulder of +the reader crouched at her feet....</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>As the servants did not understand, the +Gods told them more: This is the Temple in which +you are to live. Here is the holy valley, the valley +in which time shall stand motionless. And here +are the males of the Race-which-shall-not-change. +They shall be the Living Gods. These shall be +Life and they shall be called 'the Red Gods,' that is +to say the First, the Sons of the Queen-race, the +Rmoahal<a id="FNanchor_17_17" href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a>-race.</i></p> +</div> + +<p>Pierre stretched his hand towards Jieng:</p> + +<p>"Listen," he cried; "if you don't give us back +this woman our brothers will come and destroy +your temple and raze it to the ground. You +shall all be dispersed and slain. Our revenge is +terrible!"</p> + +<p>Jieng, implacable, slowly raised her withered +hand:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>And henceforth the first Rule of the Law +shall be concerning your fate: you shall be conquered +throughout the centuries but you shall +never be subdued. Everything which is taken +from you you shall some day recover, as the free +people of the forest, the Moï people, shall not die. +They shall remain a strong people, for the women +of the race whose bodies are sterile shall come here +and shall be the brides for one night of the Living +Gods, and they shall carry back to the people of +the forest the life and the strength of the Race-which-shall-not-change.</i>"</p> +</div> + +<p>Pierre bent his head; he felt himself fighting +against a stupendous power, in the face of which +all resistance would be useless. The versicles +chanted in Banhar by the reader seemed to him a +fantastic story without interest. He thought of +nothing but Wanda. Would he ever be able to set +her free? He looked at her. Her face seemed to +him paler, yet more wonderfully sweet and tender, +in the midst of these ravaged faces of the sorceresses! +But at the same time he realized his weakness +against their numbers. The disproportion of +their forces came home to him with brutal certainty, +and he knew in advance that he would go +down to defeat. He would not save Wanda ... he +would not be able to save her!</p> + +<p>To his rage succeeded a dull despair. He turned +to the missionary, and the priest, aware of his +sufferings, said gravely:</p> + +<p>"Wait, the goodness of the Lord is without +bounds: we have no right to despair...."</p> + +<p>The voice of the chantress continuing her litany +interrupted him:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>They shall be brides of a night—but they +shall not know it, for they shall remain wrapped in +slumber, as no woman except their servants may +see the Living Gods. No one—unless her life +henceforth is to be that of one of their servants and +that she remain among them until her death. And +this is the second Rule of the Law.</i>"</p> +</div> + +<p>Jieng bent forward: she looked the young man +up and down.</p> + +<p>"Do you hear?" she asked in her expressionless +voice. "She wanted to see the Red Gods. She +has seen them, and she must remain among us +until her death. It is the second Rule of the +Law...."</p> + +<p>She leaned back.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>But the women of the free people who +have been three times brides of the Gods and who +shall still remain sterile shall become their servants. +Then their portion shall be ugliness and +obedience. Those who are not ugly shall be made +so; so that all the women who are thus offered to +the Gods shall alike have faces without thought +and without mind,—as beauty and thought will +bring to blossom in the holy valley as they have in +the rest of the world the trees of love, of hatred +and of revolt.—And this is the third Rule of the +Law.</i>"</p> +</div> + +<p>The parchment, now almost all unrolled, +stretched out towards the hollow in the centre of +the court, brushing the feet of the two men and +jerking with every movement of the reader, whose +voice, up to that moment level and expressionless, +suddenly became vibrant and sonorous.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>Men even of Moï blood shall never see +the Temple, and the Dead Zone shall be their +boundary. Nevertheless fifty warriors shall live in +the Temple, but without knowing the Gods; and +before entering there they shall have been made no +longer fit to be called men. This is the penultimate +Rule of the Law.</i>"</p> +</div> + +<p>A long pause, then the voice rose and became +strident and flung out like a defiance or a verdict +of death the last section of the Law.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>"... <i>And if a man who is neither of the Moï +blood nor of the Moï country comes to the Temple, +drawn by the lust of knowledge or even by chance, +the Slow Death shall be his portion. And this is +the last Rule of the Law.</i>"</p> +</div> + +<p>Lursac saw the missionary blench.</p> + +<p>"Is it this verdict of death which causes you +anxiety?" he asked.</p> + +<p>The priest shrugged his shoulders:</p> + +<p>"Didn't you hear? We are condemned to the +Slow Death. I suppose you know what that +means?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Pierre, "starvation and thirst!"</p> + +<p>"No," interjected the priest, "it is something +much more horrible, a punishment which is +celebrated in the annals of the Kingdom of +Annam."<a id="FNanchor_18_18" href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> + +<p>The voice of Jieng interrupted him. She had +risen. With her two hands sweeping the air in a +wide threatening gesture, she cried out:</p> + +<p>"The Law is the Law. You have come here to +find out, and you have found out; but now the Law +of Gondwana has become your Law. Hear this +also which is the first word, at once the first and +the last, as the chain which binds you is complete.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p>... <i>It is written: that those who wish to +know—may know. This is the Law of the Red +Gods—the Law of the barren wives, the Law of +Gondwana. But those of our blood only—and +among those only women and the servants of +the Gods—may hear it and know it without +dying.</i>..."</p> +</div> + +<p>A great clamor filled the hall: all the priestesses +standing upon their steps with their eyes turned +towards the two men repeated in unison:</p> + +<p>"<i>And the Law of Gondwana is become your +Law.</i>"</p> + +<p>Clear and sudden, silence fell and lasted for a +moment; then Jieng gave the order:</p> + +<p>"Set them in the eighth gallery of the end hall +until sunset. Then they shall be carried to the +statue of the God; and when the dawn comes the +last rule of the Law shall be carried out...."</p> + +<p>She looked the missionary in the face.</p> + +<p>"And now I shall find out how those who serve +your God can die," said she.</p> + +<p>Straining towards him she seemed to await his +answer. But the priest, with his eyes in front of +him, gave no evidence of having heard her except +by a faint smile.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</h2> +</div> + +<h3>WANDA TELLS HER STORY</h3> + + +<p>The eighth gallery in which they were now confined +was a peculiar prison. It was a room +about five or six yards long and not more than a +yard and one-half broad—a sort of corridor, with +a very lofty ceiling, its floor tiled with black and +white mosaic ornamented with purple gold. Its +strangeness consisted in a feature which gave it a +disquieting and peculiar appearance of a combined +cage and chapel. The one and the only wall was +hollowed out into an apse, at the back of which an +enormous idol in red metal smiled a beatific smile, +seated in the hollow of a huge flower formed by the +spreading of seven flattened heads of a gigantic +Brahminic cobra. At the other end, opposite, was +the door by which they had been forced to enter +the room, and on both sides, arranged clusterwise, +there rose a double row of columns almost touching +each other and leaving between them space hardly +large enough to slip one's arm through.</p> + +<p>There was no furniture in the gallery; but on +the floor, at the foot of the Buddhist statue, against +the wall, there was stretched a bed of beasts' skins, +with rough thick hair.</p> + +<p>Pierre had set himself upon this, while the missionary, +his face pressed between the pillars, +watched everything within reach of his eyes.</p> + +<p>The gallery in which they lay formed the short +end of an enormous room. To right and left other +halls, one leading into another, stretched away, +separated by lofty arches. Here and there opened +dark entries to semi-visible passages. A bluish-green +daylight flowed between the gray walls from +some source which they could not determine. A +smell of stale incense and of mould was over everything. +Striking down from some invisible opening +in the roof a dazzling ray of sunlight fell obliquely +on the tiling of the floor, making a broad splash of +pale light. The priestesses came and went. They +glided noiselessly from one hall to another, going +about their customary duties, taking no notice of +the two men, not even glancing at them. They +simply appeared from some passage, crossed a hall +and were swallowed up in the shadows of another +passage; and sometimes they were accompanied by +native warriors with bare breasts and legs and +cloth kilts about their middles.</p> + +<p>Somewhere a woman's voice chanted a canticle, +a sort of hymn to death; and amid the vast silence +this was the only sound that could be heard.</p> + +<p>The minutes passed. Pierre, with his head between +his hands, was lost in vague thought: an +immense exhaustion had fallen upon him and bitter +despair. He thought of Wanda: the image of the +young woman haunted him and he was obsessed by +the words which she had spoken out there in the +middle of the strange tribunal which had condemned +them to Slow Death. They went round +and round in his brain which burned as with fever.</p> + +<p>"Presently.... After the...."</p> + +<p>His own fate did not disturb him. His nerves +prostrated by fatigue and his will in abeyance, he +was a prey to his physical weakness, and, in the +dull stupefaction in his brain there floated only a +single craving—to give up, to lie down on these +warm furs and never move again, never think, and +just forget everything.</p> + +<p>"Lursac ... come! come quickly!..."</p> + +<p>Pierre looked at the missionary with dull eyes, +and getting up slowly and awkwardly he went to +join him.</p> + +<p>The priest, pointing out the series of rooms in +front of him, said simply:</p> + +<p>"Wanda!"</p> + +<p>Pressing his face between two pillars, Pierre +looked. She had just appeared at the bottom of +the furthest hall. She was running. Under an +arch she had to stop to let a procession of priestesses +followed by a dozen warriors go by. Then +she came on again. The long black tunic which she +wore made the pale gold of her unbound hair all +the more luminous by its contrast.</p> + +<p>Pierre stretched his arms toward her:</p> + +<p>"Wanda!... Wanda!..."</p> + +<p>In a moment she was before them. A priestess +accompanied her and opened the door for her, shutting +it behind her, and then went off without a +word. Standing in the middle of the gallery, the +young woman now gave way and cried with convulsive +spasms of silent weeping. Pierre had +caught her hands and kissed them passionately one +after the other. Words came to him, tumbling out +confusedly:</p> + +<p>"My dear one!... Wanda!... My love! ... +you are here.... Lift up your head so that I may +see your eyes ... yes, that's right.... Don't cry! +I love you!..."</p> + +<p>He pressed her to him passionately, stroking her +hair, her shoulders. Then raising her face gently +he drew her towards him and bent over her: their +lips came together and clung.</p> + +<p>Releasing herself, she saw the missionary who +had sat himself down upon the heap of furs: she +called to him:</p> + +<p>"My Father!"</p> + +<p>Then, running up to him, she knelt and stretched +her hands, which he caught and held.</p> + +<p>"My poor child!" said he, "how did you manage +to get to us?"</p> + +<p>He felt the long, cold fingers tremble in his.</p> + +<p>"I am free," she said, "free to come and go +throughout the temple. No one takes any notice +of me since ... since I must live here henceforth +until I die."</p> + +<p>They were both silent, full of thoughts and conflicting +feelings. It was the young woman who +first broke the silence:</p> + +<p>"And Michael?" she questioned anxiously, seizing +the priest by the arm, "have you found him?"</p> + +<p>The missionary confessed the truth, telling +briefly the story of their descent into the ravine, +the death of their guides, and how they made their +way into the temple and had been captured.</p> + +<p>She interrupted him, crying aloud again and yet +again:</p> + +<p>"All that has come about through my fault! +Forgive me!... Forgive me!..."</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Then in her turn she spoke:</p> + +<p>"I wanted to save Michael! His disappearance, +the terror which weighed on the whole region, the +sorceresses, the pilgrimage for women, all that +seemed to be part of a single whole.... I knew +that Jieng must know all about this terrible occult +system of which my brother was the prisoner, and +that she must be a part of it...."</p> + +<p>She turned to the missionary.</p> + +<p>"You said: 'I cannot depend on starting in less +than eight days? I was appalled.... I was afraid +that we should arrive too late. When I left the +Mission I went to find Jieng by myself in order to +force information from her, but I got nothing ... +nothing, except that if I accompanied the pilgrimage +of the sixth month which was starting that +evening, I should at any rate be able to see Michael.... +I thought I should be able to join him and +give you the time to arrive and rescue him, and +perhaps that I could help him to escape. And then, +you see, Jieng allowed me to send you a message. +So I set out, one of the troop of Moï women. I +walked with them all the way and arrived in front +of the temple where they made us enter a +court...."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Pierre, "we know all about that."</p> + +<p>And he recounted the tale which Hmon had told +them. She assented to it with nods of her head as +he went along, and without speaking.</p> + +<p>When he had finished, she looked at him.</p> + +<p>"And then?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"That's all," said Pierre. "She waked up at the +feet of the idol. What had happened while she was +asleep she knew nothing of...."</p> + +<p>The young woman bent her head. Hiding her +face between her hands, she whispered:</p> + +<p>"I know.... I know.... When we arrived at +the pagoda, Jieng said to me: 'Do you want to see +your brother? Perhaps he is here ... mix with +the priestesses and look....' So with the priestesses +I made one of those who lined the passages +through which the Moï women walked, and I saw +everything. As soon as they were asleep, four +priestesses picked them up. Behind the statue of +the God there was a door through which they took +them. And Jieng again said to me, 'Follow them.' +Then immediately, seeing my movement of instinctive +recoil, she said, 'Then stay behind;' but her +scornful smile decided me to go on. I found myself +in a subterranean passage: before me four priestesses +were carrying a woman: behind me two others +were walking, with torches in their hands. The +passage came out on a high narrow gallery lighted +with braziers set on tripods. On one side there +was a clammy wall dripping with moisture, and on +the other a row of columns close to each other, just +like these of this gallery. Spaced among these pillars +were doors,—I counted twelve of them. One +of the priestesses opened one of them, the first. +Leaning against the columns, I looked into a sort +of rectangular cave."</p> + +<p>The missionary watched Pierre with a sidelong +glance:</p> + +<p>"Yes, ..." he whispered, "it was through one of +those that we got here...."</p> + +<p>The young woman seemed not to hear him: she +continued:</p> + +<p>"Two doors opened out of it: one through which +the sorceresses were already pushing the body of +the woman, the other opposite. Behind this latter +I thought I heard movements and hoarse whispering. +I went a little further down the gallery, and +I discovered that behind each of these twelve doors +there was a similar cell, and that in each of those +a sleeping woman was lying on the ground. When +I returned to the first one, the woman that I had +seen carried there was lying stretched out on the +ground chained by the wrist. She was still asleep; +and only a single sorceress was by her, who, approaching +a tripod on which live coals were glowing, +threw upon it a pinch of powder. A flame shot +up, blinding and livid. Twice more she repeated +her action, and then came back to me. Behind the +second door the footsteps approached and became +louder. At the same moment a sharp click made +me jump. Behind me the door by which we had +come in was shut. I was alone in the gallery. +Lying along on the ground, the woman who was +there moaned softly in her sleep. At the same time +the second door was violently flung open ... +and...."</p> + +<p>She gasped. Through her fingers tears began to +drip.</p> + +<p>Pierre repeated:</p> + +<p>"The door opened, and?"</p> + +<p>In spite of himself the words sounded rough.</p> + +<p>She sobbed more terribly.</p> + +<p>"A man came in," said she, "a red man. He was +very tall and clothed in a reddish fur; he looked +round with a hard shining look and ran towards +the woman. I cried out.... He stopped, and +flung an enquiring glance around him; he saw me. +He was some steps from me but quite near. I saw +his eyes open wide with astonishment. He looked +down at the woman lying at his feet and then +quickly looked up again at me. Fear overcame +me.... I ran along the gallery. From all the +cells that I passed I heard cries and noises: I +thought I understood, and an immense horror overcame +me. Staggering, I came back and reached the +first cell in which the man.... He was still there +motionless in front of me. His mahogany-colored +face took on an extraordinary expression of curiosity +and respect, then suddenly it moved spasmodically +and he ran at me. I felt his hand on my +hair. Ghastly fear made my knees give way. Falling, +I flung myself back with all my might and +called out...."</p> + +<p>She hesitated. Pierre saw her hands tremble +and clench.</p> + +<p>"And then? then?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I ... it is all confused in my brain. I had +shrunk away ... yes ... as far as possible! I +was afraid! afraid! But I continued to stare at +him. I could neither turn my eyes away nor close +them. I saw him standing against the columns, +his closed fist held a lock of my hair and he was +looking at it. He stayed like that for a long time, +looking now at the woman sleeping on the earth +and then at me. Finally he drew back slowly and +went out."</p> + +<p>She stopped speaking.</p> + +<p>The missionary stretched his hand to her in a +gentle gesture of pity and compassion, but Pierre, +his face drawn and his teeth clenched, cried out:</p> + +<p>"And then?"</p> + +<p>She drew back her hands from her face and cast +a gentle look upon him.</p> + +<p>"After ... I do not know.... With my face +in my arms I cried and cried. Time went by: +silence was everywhere around me. I dragged myself +to the door. I cried aloud and banged on it. +Then suddenly, when I had given up hope, it +opened, and Jieng appeared accompanied by two +guards. She turned towards me and grinned. +The warriors under her order held me up and +helped me along: they took me back into the +temple and conducted me into a long room with +sculptured walls. After having laid me on a sleeping +bench covered with furs they went out. Jieng +remained alone with me. She looked me up and +down.</p> + +<p>"'This,' she said, 'will be your room. You are +free to leave it if you wish. Do whatever you want. +But I said to you one day, 'no harm will happen to +you,' and I don't want a pig of a barbarian to be +able to accuse me of having lied. The priestesses +of the Red Gods do not lie. Go out of the temple +if you wish, but do not forget this: Out there'—she +pointed in one direction—'at the principal +entrance by which you came in is the forest, and +death for those who are not of our race. On this +side'—and she pointed to the façade of the sanctuary +on which the door and window of my room +gave—'on this side dwells the clan of the Red +Gods which you have just seen.' She paused, gave +a short, strident laugh, and went on: 'Do, then, as +you will. Whatever happens to you now it will be +only your own wish which has brought you to it.'</p> + +<p>"She went off before I could make even a movement. +I remained on the sleeping-bench, overcome, +and my mind empty. I felt incapable of moving. +Affairs presented themselves to me in their true +light. Making use of the disappearance of Michael, +Jieng had inveigled me into an ambush, and from +now on I was her prisoner. The words which she +had just said to me echoed in my hollow brain. On +one side the unknown mountain range, a desert +which no man left to himself could manage to cross, +on the other the ... the...."</p> + +<p>Wanda was silent. Her look was full of a sort +of horror. She raised dull eyes towards the two +men and went on:</p> + +<p>"When I recovered from my prostration I dragged +myself to the window of my room, which was +barred with small columns. The growing light of +dawn showed me a wild landscape: a chaos of +rocky blocks massed perpendicularly on the edge +of a gentle slope, and beyond that the dark sea of +the forest buried in a gorge of which the abrupt +walls flung themselves up towards a livid sky and +surrounded with their implacable ranks the entire +temple."</p> + +<p>"The ravine," murmured Pierre.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" said the priest, "let her continue!"</p> + +<p>The young woman, without looking at them, +went on:</p> + +<p>"I stayed there a long time. The sun rose and +its light shone into my room. I was able to see +every detail of it. The walls, from top to bottom, +were graven with designs, lotus flowers, impossible +animals, warriors and bonzes in attitudes of +struggle or prayer. The sleeping-platform, two +chests and two or three stools, crudely carved, +made up the entire furnishings. The gate to the +right of the window which opened on the façade +of the temple fronting the ravine, was heavy and +made of rough wood: a bar almost as big as a +squared beam crossed it. I made sure that it was +firmly shut, and then I left the room. I wandered +through the halls of the temple. The priestesses +and the warriors whom I met took no notice of +me.... But I heard behind my back ironical +laughs and sneers. I made my way back to my +cell, and throwing myself on my bed I sobbed desperately +until fatigue, stronger than suffering, +brought me unconsciousness.</p> + +<p>"A ringing cry awoke me suddenly. I got up +and looked about me. Between the columns of my +window I made out the face of a man. The face +that I had seen the night before in the cell back +there.... I cried out, and stood ready to run +away....</p> + +<p>"But he gave an uneasy smile, and lifting up his +hands seemed to show me something which I could +not make out properly: then he disappeared. I +waited a few seconds, and carefully approaching +the window I dared to look out. The sun was setting. +On my window-sill I found a stag's head +with its antlers. In the distance among the rocks +the man was running away."</p> + +<p>The young woman bent her head down and +stopped speaking.</p> + +<p>Pierre, tortured with doubt, did not dare to ask +her any questions; while the missionary, remembering +what he had seen that same morning at +dawn, reflected deeply. Before his mind there +came again the picture of the barbarian and his +attitude of silent adoration; and suddenly he understood +what they had taken for the ritual of an +unknown worship was nothing but an expression +of adoration—an outbreak of this eternal instinct +of love which down through the ages from the earliest +days of humanity to the present time has +taught the males of the species the same thoughts +and the same actions, of which accumulated centuries +of civilization and of progress have only succeeded +in reducing the primordial brutality ... +nothing more than this! The silence grew longer +and it was Wanda who of her own accord continued:</p> + +<p>"How did he manage to discover which was my +window? I do not know. But from that time on, +every morning at dawn, and every evening at night-fall, +he came up to my room and prowled about it. +When he left, a new trophy was added to the +others. When I wake in the morning I see his +great face and his gray eyes, and in the evening I +perceive his shadow flung across the window of +my cell. For I do not sleep any more.... I do +not sleep any more.... I am afraid.... Although +I know I have nothing to fear; but from +dread of feeling there, behind my door, this invisible +presence, of being aware that I have been +ceaselessly watched by this human beast for all of +the eight days that I have been here.... Ah, the +horror of it!..."</p> + +<p>Her glance became fixed. In the depths of her +eyes, grown large with fear and reddened by sleeplessness, +a vision arose, the vision of a scene which +had been enacted the evening before, and of which +the memory, overshadowing her, still made her +tremble. She lived again through those frightful +minutes during which, pressed against the wall, +her heart beating wildly, she had listened to the +man scratching at her door, feeling it all over, trying +his strength against it, endeavoring to enter +into this room in which lay the female with the +gold hair, the prey which he desired above all else. +She recalled again his appearance at the window, +his efforts to break through the columns, and his +cry—this strange cry which had terrified her by +the desire, the wrath, and the sadness which it +expressed. Then, mad with terror, she had rushed +at him armed with a torch. She saw again his face +which the purple light of the firebrand had sharply +lighted up—the face of a conquered wild beast, +savage, humble, and grief-stricken all at the same +time.</p> + +<p>She shuddered.</p> + +<p>"Ah! the horror of it! ... the horror of +it! ..." she repeated in a low voice.</p> + +<p>Pierre, who had been wildly striding up and +down his narrow prison, came back to her. He +seized the hand of the young woman on which still +sparkled the signet ring which he had given her. +He stroked it gently, and passionately kissed the +fingers one by one. A great pity had taken possession +of him: he tried to find soothing words:</p> + +<p>"My loved one ... my darling ... you must +not think of all that, you must not torture yourself +like this ... I love you!..."</p> + +<p>She raised her head suddenly. Her face, wet +with tears, became illumined with an expression +of longing and passionate love. She drew him to +her.</p> + +<p>"I love you!... I love you ..." she whispered, +offering him her lips.</p> + +<p>And once again their love made them regardless +of everything but themselves.</p> + +<p>The missionary, standing beside them, looked +into the distance. Gradually the darkness stole in. +The ray of sunlight had long gone from the furthest +arch. Bluish shadows little by little invaded the +temple. The night filtered softly into the halls; +the further ones gradually melted into the +obscurity and became invisible.</p> + +<p>The priestesses, scarcely seen, continued to go +back and forth through the sanctuary. In the +distance the unknown voice continued to chant its +song of death; and the darkness mingling with the +sadness of the chant sung upon two minor tones +gave it a peculiar sweetness.</p> + +<p>Minutes passed, and then from the dark of a +passage a procession of eight priestesses carrying +torches appeared, accompanied by a dozen warriors, +their lances in their hands. The troop, +crossing the various rooms, advanced towards the +prisoners.</p> + +<p>Jieng was at their head.</p> + +<p>The missionary followed their march with his +eyes for a minute, then he murmured:</p> + +<p>"<i>Let them be put in the eighth gallery until the +setting of the sun.</i>... And the sun is set!"</p> + +<p>He called to Lursac:</p> + +<p>"They are coming to fetch us," he said; and he +walked towards the door.</p> + +<p>The voice stopped him:</p> + +<p>"No ... you will not be taken there for an +hour."</p> + +<p>Pierre, raising his head, perceived Jieng. +Standing before the pillars she watched the three +Europeans: a grin wreathed her face, twisting it +into wrinkles. With a gesture she dismissed her +escort; then she spoke in Banhar, addressing herself +to Pierre and the girl.</p> + +<p>"You came to see me down there in my village. +I have not forgotten it."</p> + +<p>And she bowed in an ironical salute:</p> + +<p>"In my turn I come to see you.... Is not that +the custom among you?"</p> + +<p>The young people made no answer: they clung +to each other. Jieng gave a little dry laugh.</p> + +<p>"Aïa ... Aïa ..." said she. "Is your curiosity +then dead? Has fear killed it?"</p> + +<p>The missionary, as she looked at him, shrugged +his shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Hé!" he growled, "I wonder what there can be +left for us to know now?"</p> + +<p>Although he had spoken in a very low voice, the +sorceress heard him.</p> + +<p>She gave a short laugh.</p> + +<p>"What there remains for you to know? Very +nearly everything!..."</p> + +<p>The three Europeans started violently. The +answer had been spoken in French, slowly but +almost without accent. The smile of the high-priestess +became more marked and full of irony.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she said, "first of all that: I speak your +language."</p> + +<p>She enjoyed their astonishment for the space of +several seconds, then she continued:</p> + +<p>"You could not imagine that!... And who +could have supposed it?... Here, in the depths +of the forest, an old woman shut up in her hut, +leading the existence which animals lead in their +lairs—a savage, brutalized by this primitive and +bestial life, just a Moï beggar-woman—<i>speaking +French</i>!... Incredible, isn't it? Yes ... +I am beginning to interest you."</p> + +<p>The missionary, taken unawares, had instinctively +moved towards the columns.</p> + +<p>Her glance settled on him.</p> + +<p>"I was certain," said she, "that my visit would +not displease you. The explanation?... How +and where I learned your language? It is much +simpler than you imagine. I suppose you know +the orphanage of the Little Sisters of Saigon? I +was there eight years, from the age of six to fourteen. +Then suddenly I disappeared. They looked +for me. I was taken away by a street-beggar and +brought back among my own people to be made +ready for my present rôle. Ten years of work and +initiation, twenty more years during which I +learned all the secrets of the Law of Gondwana; +then at the death of my mother came my nomination +as Bia-Bo-Jaou.<a id="FNanchor_19_19" href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> I have been that for eighteen +years. I was forty-four at the time. And ever +since then, every two years at least, I have been to +Saigon. I was there when this man"—and she +pointed to Lursac—"landed. I shall be there again +four months from now. I go there to follow the +course of your conquest, to watch the progress of +your forward movements."</p> + +<p>She made a pause: her voice became stronger, +and an extraordinary expression of hardness contracted +her deformed face.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said she, "you are powerful: your spirit +of order, your system of violence and persuasion +by turns, this mixture of force and subtlety, of +terrorization and of free infiltration, has given you +unexpected results, as, little by little advancing, +and settling yourselves as you penetrate, you have +arrived at the very foot of our mountains...."</p> + +<p>She made a movement of restrained rage.</p> + +<p>"Yes ... you have arrived so far, but at the +same time you have attained the limit which I had +set to your encroachments...."</p> + +<p>She noticed the somewhat disdainful smile with +which Pierre received her declaration. All the +hate in her showed in her face. She growled out:</p> + +<p>"You may smile. I told you just now: you know +nothing! Listen ... you are going to die in a +few hours. She—"and her stretched-out finger +pointed to Wanda—"she will never leave the +temple again.... You wanted to find out, like +the others—like Lieutenant Redeski and Lieutenant +Longères whose corpses you found in the +ravine—like Captain Dorcel, whom we allowed to +return to Saigon because I knew he could never +speak again, and because I thought thus to turn +aside the suspicions which the disappearance of +Lieutenant Longères had aroused. Like them you +wanted to know; but also, like them, you will never +be able to tell anybody what you do know."</p> + +<p>She stopped to sneer. Father Ravennes mechanically +enquired:</p> + +<p>"Then ... it is you?..."</p> + +<p>She did not allow him to go on; she swelled with +pride.</p> + +<p>"It is I! But there is more and better to come +... for this is only a minor issue, an unimportant +detail of the contest which I am waging against +you. Remember the rebellion of the Bolovens, a +revolt at once religious and patriotic, the taking +of the post of Psi, the putting to death of Robert, +condemned by me because his curiosity began to +be inconvenient! At the same time do not forget +the death of Odend'hal who was too anxious to find +out about it."</p> + +<p>She stamped her foot and cried out:</p> + +<p>"All that ... all that, is my work ... it is my +will which has caused it ... it is my power which +has commanded it and brought it about."</p> + +<p>The missionary, standing upright before her, +looked at her.</p> + +<p>"Why?" he asked quietly. "Why? We have +never sought to do you any harm!... We come +to you...."</p> + +<p>She spat on the ground and interrupted him:</p> + +<p>"Done me harm?..." she repeated violently. +"By what right do you set yourselves up as masters? +This land is ours! However far you may +search back into the Chinese historians you find +that this soil was inhabited from the beginning +by our race. Invasions occurred: the Kmers, the +Chams, the Lao-ese, the Cambodians, the Annamese, +all, all invaded us and fell upon our plateaus +like swarms of hungry insects. We gave way as +much as possible. We fled into the most inaccessible +forests and on to the most precipitous +mountains. We, formerly the masters of this +country, we fled. The rich, fertile soil of the plains +we abandoned to the greed of our invaders: we +were condemned to a miserable life, the life of the +beasts, hunted in the depths of their forests and +pursued even to their lairs. But we remained free, +we were always the Free People of the Mountain."</p> + +<p>"Then, in your turn, you came. These fragments +of our possessions, these last vestiges of our +territory—even these—you wanted to take from +us. And above all, above all, you wanted to rule +us, to make us subservient to your laws ... to +your customs ... to your religion; ... like those +other peoples worn out with debauchery and weakened +with opium, like the Lao-ese, the Cambodians, +the Annamese, we were to have become your servants +and the instruments of your greatness!... +Ah! but we would not. And I, on the other hand, I, +Jieng, less than anyone, because, while those others +simply dislike you, I hate you.... I hate you +because of your power and your civilization which +make you so formidable. I hate you because, great +and strong as you are, you are for ever thinking +how to stretch out your hands over the miserable +territories of a people that you think cannot resist +you. I hate you because your domination would +mean the annihilation of all that our race has done, +the work of my people; our customs, our laws, our +habits, our religion: because ten years of European +influence is enough to wipe out the centuries of our +history; this history that the members of my +family have built up one after the other, down to +me.... I hate you!... I hate you!..."</p> + +<p>Little by little her voice had risen in tone, and +she flung out her last words with a sort of furious +violence. Then, suddenly, she was taken with a +fit of coughing which bent her double.</p> + +<p>Pierre and Wanda, motionless, watched her with +immense surprise. The priest alone remained unimpressed. +He listened with grave attention, and +when once more the high priestess was silent he +slowly stretched out his arm towards her:</p> + +<p>"What does it matter?" said he. "As for me, +I do not hate you: you serve your religion...."</p> + +<p>Jieng lifted her head again.</p> + +<p>"I serve my religion?" said she, "Ah! Ah! They +think that! ... and after all that I have just said +to them ... they have not even understood!... +Dorcel even was more intelligent than you.... +My religion? You are as simple as all my people.... +For them there must be gods, divine beings +whom they never see and whom terror makes them +obey better than they do us plain mortals.... +The Red Gods! ... yes, for them, for all of them, +these are gods.... But for me ... for me ... +they are the pure race, the strong race, which +makes it possible for me to preserve in the people +of the forest its hardiness, to infuse into it a new +unfettered blood to fight against its bastardization, +against its degradation. It is the giant tree +from which I drain into the veins of the Moï people +a new sap ... it is the life which I preserve +for my people in order that the word of the law of +Gondwana shall some day become the truth: <i>You +shall be conquered throughout the centuries but +you shall never be overcome, and everything which +has been taken away from you, some day you shall +retake</i>."</p> + +<p>"But," said the priest, "what about them, the +men of the tribe?"</p> + +<p>The eyes of the priestess looked at him:</p> + +<p>"They," said she, "they do not know. Life for +them has always been there, and never anywhere +else. The fathers of their fathers have lived there, +and for them the world has no other features but +those of this valley and the rear façade of the +temple. Ten male children and ten girls are +enough to assure their perpetuation. Is that what +you wanted to know?"</p> + +<p>The resonant note of a gong at the end of one of +the halls filled the vaults with its call and vibrated +long under the vaulted ceilings. Jieng, turning +towards her escort, made a sign: the warriors got +ready to march away. The high priestess cried in +a loud voice:</p> + +<p>"This is the hour!..."</p> + +<p>Wanda had fallen on her knees. She sobbed.</p> + +<p>Lursac, bending over her, said quickly:</p> + +<p>"Follow us, and stay as near as you can to the +hall into which they take us. Perhaps we can +manage...."</p> + +<p>She gave a cry of despair:</p> + +<p>"No! No! They are too strong and there are +too many of them!"</p> + +<p>The priest in his turn said decidedly:</p> + +<p>"Lursac is right. Anything may happen when +God wills it."</p> + +<p>And as they opened the door of the gallery he +crossed the threshold and of his own accord placed +himself between two of the warriors. Pierre did +likewise. Wanda had pulled herself together and +went out of the gallery, and when the priestesses +started off she tried to follow them. Two men +stopped her. She struggled and tried to pass in +spite of them. They held her by force, and one of +them explained to her with a high, almost feminine +voice:</p> + +<p>"Only those who are going to die are allowed to +watch under the statue of the God."</p> + +<p>She called out:</p> + +<p>"Pierre! Pierre!..."</p> + +<p>But the escort had disappeared, swallowed up in +the dark mouth of one of the passages. The warriors +had loosed her. They watched her. The one +who had already spoken said baldly:</p> + +<p>"Women and female beasts are just alike, they +cry after the male...."</p> + +<p>Then she fled, and the laughter of the two guards +followed her.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</h2> +</div> + +<h3>A TERRIBLE BARGAIN</h3> + + +<p>She had fled into her room. Flung upon her +sleeping-bench she was thinking rapidly. Her +tears flowed no longer. With her will concentrated +to a point, she forced herself to subdue the tumult +of her thoughts and to bring order out of the chaos +of ideas and emotions which surged up in her.</p> + +<p>The night had flowed into and drowned her cell,—this +night which was to be the last one for Pierre +and Father Ravennes. Tomorrow, at dawn, their +torture would begin,—this fearful torture, the +Slow Death, which Jieng one evening had complaisantly +described to her: the flesh torn off bit +by bit, the bones broken one by one, the entrails.... +With a bound of horror the young +woman flung herself from the couch and stood upright +in the middle of the room. The darkness +became unbearable to her. She lighted the torch +fixed in the wall above the window. But the vision +which she had thought to banish in driving away +the dark, came back to her, haunted her.... +Pierre cut to pieces, dismembered, a mere bleeding +stump!... Pierre! and all this through her own +fault... Yes, ... through her fault alone....</p> + +<p>The details of her last visit to the sorceress +flashed through her mind, and among them the +strange look of Jieng when she had given permission +for Lursac and Ravennes to be notified. A +bait! That was it.... She had been a bait used +to entice the two men, to bring them into the trap, +to call them to it certainly and irresistibly.</p> + +<p>And now, now.... Gripping her arms in her +hands she twisted them in agony; all her love, all +her suffering, broke from her in a strangled +sob.... Ah! if it were possible to save them!... +To snatch Pierre from this nameless and horrible +death.... To save him.... She thought of the +last words of the young man: "Perhaps we can +manage...." She shook her head wildly: No. +Nothing! He could do nothing!... For she +knew, she had seen the warriors and the sorceresses. +There were too many of them! What then? What +then? She thought in a flash: "If I went there, +I ... if instead of them Jieng would...." But +she stood frozen into immobility at the thought +that it was not she whom they wanted to get rid +of, but they, the men who knew too much, who had +discovered too many secrets,—they who represented +the conquerors, the witnesses,—as they had +already got rid of Dorcel, Longères, Redeski.... +No, it must be something else ... she must find +some other way.... But what?... The question +obsessed her and would not let her go, beating +round and round the walls of her brain.... +What? She could not think of anything ... and +the horrible scene which she visioned in advance +dwelt obstinately before her eyes: the scene of the +torture, tomorrow, in a few hours....</p> + +<p>Once more, seized by despair, she flung herself +across the foot of the sleeping-bench and with her +head buried in her arms she sobbed convulsively. +Suddenly she heard a call, that hoarse, lingering, +drawn-out cry which she had so often heard and +knew so well. She turned her head towards the +window and saw the Man. With his face pressed +against the little columns, he was watching her. +She remained motionless: what did he matter? +She was now in the grip of a different fear, a more +terrible one, which made her forget the one which +had so long pursued her.</p> + +<p>They looked at each other, face to face: he with +his eyes shining with the fever of passion; she with +a mechanical stare which hardly saw him. He +drew himself still closer to the window and called +once again:</p> + +<p>"<i>O ... ô ... iê ... êp.</i>..."</p> + +<p>But his voice now had in it something timid and +imploring which made the girl tremble. His eyelids +flickered. She got up and stood facing him. +Leaning against the wall she considered the face +of the savage. It seemed to her now that she saw +him for the first time. A line of shade from one of +the columns hid his right ear, a part of his neck +and the middle of his chest; but his heavy square +forehead, high, and rising from bushy eyebrows; +his deep-sunk eye-sockets, in the depths of which +under quick flickering eyelids shone the thin, +sharp, clinging look of a bird of prey; his strong +red mouth and his hard, prominent chin; the entire +face copper-colored, and softly touched into uncertain, +purplish lights and shadows by the flame +of the torch. And this face now appeared to +Wanda strangely beautiful and savage at the +same time.</p> + +<p>The Man, with a slow, gentle movement, as +though afraid of frightening her, held up an enormous +branch, covered with fruit, which he laid on +the sill of the window, and on his face spread a +shy boyish smile.</p> + +<p>Panting, Wanda suddenly made a couple of +steps toward him. She staggered. With a violent +effort which contorted her features, she conquered +her weakness and let her look rest on the +Man. A swift flame flashed in her eyes giving +them a desperate expression. Then, dropping her +glance, she stretched her hand and pointed to her +door.</p> + +<p>When she looked again the window was empty. +She trembled with dread lest he had not seen her +sign and had gone away, not to return until the +hour of dawn, according to his usual custom—At +dawn, that is to say, too late! But she suddenly +heard his step behind the heavy door which she had +pointed out to him, and this time she was again +shaken by a terrible shudder because he had +understood....</p> + +<p>Instinctively she recoiled; but again the vision +of Pierre being tortured appeared to her and she +groaned. She walked stiffly to the door, while +upon her lips, which she bit in order not to cry out, +little drops of blood sprang out. She stretched out +her hand and began to loosen the enormous wooden +bar and let it fall on the ground. Then she drew +back.</p> + +<p>The door, pushed violently open, slammed against +the wall, and the Man appeared framed in the +doorway of the cell.</p> + +<p>He was a magnificent figure. His fur garment +girded about his waist left part of the chest bare +and fell to his knees. The free shoulder was big +and rounded, it had the metallic gleam of virgin +copper. Along his bare arms the muscles stood +out. From his whole body, at once massive and +beautifully proportioned, radiated a singular sense +of power. As he slowly twisted the upper part of +his body, his whole figure turned with a supple +flexion, and the fur which clothed him moulded +still more clearly his athletic torso, showing the +rounded flanks and bringing out the curve of his +haunches.</p> + +<p>Wanda remained as though petrified in the +middle of the room, unable to turn her eyes from +the giant form. With a leap and a growl he was +close to her, so near that she felt on her face the +warmth of his breath. For a second he remained +motionless, and then his neck, corded with muscles +and veins, swelled as he stretched his hands to her.</p> + +<p>The danger awoke the young woman from the +paralysis which held her. With a sudden movement +she flung herself against the wall by the +window under the torch. The Man looked astonished. +He hesitated, his eyes looked suspiciously +round the room and came back to the young +woman. Shaking his rough, tawny mane of hair +he came towards her. This time she did not stir: +she felt instinctively that the time had come to +face him—to face him and conquer him. This love +which he had for her and which she was going to +use must be set free and tamed at the same time,—and +for that it was necessary that he should not +suspect the blind terror which possessed her.</p> + +<p>When once again he was close in front of her, +he spread wide his arms and opened his hands. +She saw the grip ready to fall on her and seize her. +The face of the Man and his warm breath came +close, bending towards her golden hair which drew +him like a charm. And as she felt on her shoulders +the touch of his fingers, at once hard and light, she +flung forward her little white and trembling fist +and struck him full in the face with all her force. +The Man, with a deep growl, manifested his astonishment, +but he still held her. With a violent +shake she got free but stood her ground. For a +second they looked each other in the eyes. She +saw clearly his fawn-colored pupils in which the +reflections of the torch made red dancing spots; +and there she saw suddenly come to a head all the +instincts of violence and all the brutality of his +primitive soul.</p> + +<p>She forced herself to stare at him, unwinking, +and she spoke in a low, rather hoarse voice:</p> + +<p>"You have come every morning and every night.... +You have brought me offerings. I know.... +I have seen you.... I have heard you.... And +tonight, I ... I ... have opened my door...."</p> + +<p>She spoke in Banhar, slowly picking her words. +She did not consider what she was saying; the +main point was that he should hear the sound of +her voice and listen to it. It was essential that this +light in the depths of his eyes should disappear.</p> + +<p>He, for his part, seemed entirely taken up with +the contemplation of her hair, the inexplicable +golden-ness of which obsessed him like a marvellous +and unexpected vision.</p> + +<p>She went on speaking to him, but louder:</p> + +<p>"I have opened my door to you ... because I +want to ask something of you ... something...."</p> + +<p>Suddenly he seemed to awake from his daydream: +his eyelids beat rapidly: his lips, half-opened, +showed the ivory sparkle of his teeth, and +he savagely brought down his hands and clutched +her arms. His features tightened with a terrific +expression of cruelty, and all that had been awakened +in him of softness and hesitation was crowded +out and carried away by the sudden outbreak of +primitive instinct: he was no longer anything but +a male facing his desired love-prey. She knew this, +she read it on his contorted face, and her fear +sweeping back upon her she cried out. He lifted +her up and sought to carry her off. She struggled +and fought desperately with her nails, her feet, and +her knees. The sleeve of her tunic which he had +caught in his grip gave way: she managed to +wriggle out of his grasp, leaving the strip of black +silk between his fingers. Freed, she stumbled, fell +against the columns of the window and remained +clinging to them, trembling with fear and shame.</p> + +<p>Recoiling for an instant the Man watched her, +while mechanically he wiped away with the back +of his hand the blood from his neck covered with +Wanda's scratches. She raised her arms above her +head without letting her eyes wander from his. +With her finger-tips she explored the wall above +her until she felt the handle of the torch. At the +same moment, a hoarse growl coming from the +depths of his throat and his hands stretched out +like claws, he flung himself at her. Seizing the +torch she thrust it at him suddenly. The flame +twisted in front of his eyes and a drop of burning +resin fell upon his hand. Checked in his attack +he jumped backward several steps. At that she +followed him up, continuing to threaten him with +the firebrand. Before the fire, this mysterious and +living thing, this strange red flower, at the same +time kindly and cruel, he slowly broke away. Perhaps +there lingered in his brain the remembrance +of another similar scene, of another evening when +she had in the same way obliged him to leave her +window and to give way before her. Or perhaps +it was her face and her tragic beauty which +impressed him.</p> + +<p>All his violence fell away from him. He still +growled low in his throat but it was no longer +savage or cruel: rather, on the contrary, complaining +and imploring.</p> + +<p>When she had driven him close to the door by +which he had entered, Wanda stood still and looked +him in the eyes. Standing before her, with his +head hanging, he turned away his face. She knew +that she had conquered him, that he had submitted. +Then, without taking any notice of him, she went +and replaced the torch in its bracket above the +window. Turning round she saw him standing in +the same place, his eyes moving alternately from +her to the door and back. She knew at once that +he was hesitating whether to flee or not; and an +agony of suspense came upon her lest he should +disappear. Thinking of Pierre, whose image had +remained with her throughout, she murmured:</p> + +<p>"I will save him, ... I will save him at any +price!"</p> + +<p>Resolutely she went close to the Man. Without +making any movement he watched her approach +him; and when she laid her finger on his wrist a +shiver went through him, but he still stood motionless. +Again she spoke to him:</p> + +<p>"I said to you that I had something to ask you. +You must listen to me, for then, if you do this +thing, then...."</p> + +<p>He raised his head and looked at her attentively. +She saw him watching anxiously, trying to understand +her; and his desire to comprehend her words +was so acute as to bring a deep wrinkle between +his eyebrows. Then a wave of red flowed into the +pallid cheeks of Wanda, and she finished her sentence:</p> + +<p>"Then," she said, "I will go with you—I will go +with you always ... everywhere...."</p> + +<p>He breathed deeply and repeated:</p> + +<p>"Always ... everywhere, with me...."</p> + +<p>She acquiesced with a simple nod and closed +her eyes.</p> + +<p>While speaking she had made a step in his direction. +Now she felt his arms carefully take hold of +her round the back and draw her to him. He +pressed her against him for a second without her +attempting to free herself; then she pushed him +gently away and he let go of her.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she said, "I will do it if you free my +brothers...."</p> + +<p>Her voice trembled. She did not even dare to +to look at him, but stood waiting.</p> + +<p>"Your brothers?" said he, in his turn.</p> + +<p>"Two men of my race, of my blood," she explained. +"The servants of the temple captured +them yesterday; they have taken them into the +great hall before the red figure of the god, and +they are going to kill them when day comes, and +that—" she almost screamed—"that I will not +have...."</p> + +<p>The Man did not answer. In his thick skull +obscure thoughts were beginning to stir. Again +she stood in front of him.</p> + +<p>"With your companions you could rescue them, +carry them away from here into the forest," said +she. "They will go away, and I ... I will stay, +down there...."</p> + +<p>And she pointed with her hand in the direction +of the ravine.</p> + +<p>He trembled and put his arm round the waist +of the young woman.</p> + +<p>"Good!" said he, "tomorrow, before the rising of +the god who lights the world they shall be +free...."</p> + +<p>She gave a long, deep sigh.</p> + +<p>"But are there enough of you, and will the others +consent?"</p> + +<p>He drew himself up and threw out his chest, he +clenched his fists roughly.</p> + +<p>"There are forty of them," he said with fierce +pride, "forty, and for four seasons the clan has +marched behind Maa-Wang.... Where I go the +others will go, for I am Maa-Wang, the Man-who-goes-in-Front, +He-who-carries-the-Club, he whom +they follow...."</p> + +<p>He stopped and his rough voice softened.</p> + +<p>"Your brothers shall be free ... but then it is +you whom the servants of the temple come to look +for and will put to death...."</p> + +<p>"What does that matter?" said Wanda carelessly.</p> + +<p>He gave no heed to her. Like her, some moments +earlier, he cried out:</p> + +<p>"I will not have that: Follow me!"</p> + +<p>And as she instinctively moved back from him, +he said more softly:</p> + +<p>"You shall wait for Maa-Wang; and when those +of your blood are free in the forest, then only will +I come to fetch you."</p> + +<p>He had taken her arm as he spoke and drawn +her out of the room. On the threshold she felt +herself giving way. All her courage, all her exaltation +vanished. She saw no longer anything but +the horror of this sacrifice of herself: she was on +the point of calling to him....</p> + +<p>But the savage, seeing her totter, had picked her +up. He held her carefully against his great chest +and advanced to the edge of the outside balcony. +She could feel his heart beating in heavy, rhythmic +throbs.</p> + +<p>She resigned herself to the sacrifice.</p> + +<p>Now the Man was carrying her in one arm. He +descended the furthest wall and when he had +reached the granite base on which the building was +planted he stopped a moment searching the +shadows. The night was light and filled with +milky mist: above their heads the lighted window +cut a luminous rectangle in the sombre façade of +the temple, while the columns in front of the window +flung across the narrow gallery in front of it +alternate bars of shadows and bands of light.</p> + +<p>Once more Maa-Wang set forward. He slowly +and carefully picked his way down the massed heap +of rocky blocks, trying the ground before him at +every step, and finally came to a sort of deep grotto +hollowed between two enormous stones leaning one +against the other. The opening was low and he +had to bend himself to enter. He put the young +woman on the ground: darkness wrapped them in +its impenetrable mantle.</p> + +<p>"Here," said he, "no one will be able to find you +except me."</p> + +<p>He was silent. Wanda understood that he was +awaiting her reply. She gathered up all her +remaining energy and was finally able to stammer:</p> + +<p>"I will wait for you."</p> + +<p>She could no longer see him, but she heard the +noise of his breathing which receded and grew +fainter, and she knew that he was going. She then +saw his bent silhouette as he glided out of the +cavern. Finally she saw him roll a mass of rock +in front of the opening. Then a second one, and, +after it, others, which he heaped on each other. +The fragment of pale night which she could see +through the cavern-mouth got narrower with each +stone and finally disappeared altogether. The cave +was filled with black shadows....</p> + +<p>The young woman then heard the footsteps of +the savage become fainter and vanish into silence.</p> + +<p>Suddenly the veil of unconsciousness fell upon +her.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</h2> +</div> + +<h3>THE RESCUE</h3> + + +<p>Drawing up his great muscular form to its +full height Maa-Wang stopped: behind him +the whole clan followed his example. The Man-who-goes-in-Front +carefully looked over the façade +of the temple. It was dark. Wanda's window, +only, still lighted-up, pierced the gloom with a thin +rectangle of red.</p> + +<p>The night was beginning to thin. The roaring +of wild beasts sounded from the valley. The +depths of the gorge were still a sea of darkness, +but the foundation wall of the temple, in front of +which stood the tribe, gradually became distinct, +and the nearest door showed darker in the midst +of the dark mass.</p> + +<p>Maa-Wang turned towards his clan, raised his +club aloft and started off again, a low growl rumbling +from his lips. At his back moved the hunters, +all on fire for the battle towards which their chief +was guiding them. They spoke no word: their +great hands clutched the handles of their axes: the +flatness of their faces was accentuated: their +clenched jaws and their chins vibrating with impatience +stood out starkly: in their eyes, narrow +and flickering, shone strange lights.</p> + +<p>They passed through Wanda's cell. The door +giving on the gallery was shattered with a blow +from the club and they streamed into the corridor +behind the columns, pushing the wreckage out of +their way. The narrow subway then forced them +to form into a procession of two abreast. Maa-Wang +went at the head, silent, his fingers on the +wall of the passage, feeling his way. His fellows +followed through the blank darkness. Several minutes +they marched thus, here and there stopping to +listen; but they found nothing but silence, a living +silence heavy with invisible vibrations. Again +they started onwards.... An axe now and again +knocked against the wall, and the meeting of the +two stones made a short, clear, clink, greeted by a +surly growl. The passage curved and turned on +itself. Then, at the top of the second staircase, +guarded by a narrow rail, the opening suddenly +appeared before them, showing a pointed archway +against the lighted depths of the great hall.</p> + +<p>Maa-Wang, bending forward with his great +body, shouted the call of the clan:</p> + +<p>"<i>O ... ô ... iê ... iêp.</i>..."</p> + +<p>And he rushed forward, club aloft, while behind +him the troop streamed into the sanctuary.</p> + +<p>In front of them, with its back to them, rose an +enormous statue which they passed round. Close +on their left, the altar revealed its three steps and +the transparent hangings behind which flamed the +divinity. Above the twelve arms which stood out +from the body the metal face reproduced with extraordinary +exactness the face of Maa-Wang: the +great swelling forehead, deep eye-sockets, prominent +jaw bones and chin sticking out strongly, hair +of a burning red. It was the Man of the early +days, the ancestor of the human race deified. A +deep red fur covered the upper part of the body: +in truth it was the Red God,—the graven image of +the "Living Gods"!</p> + +<p>At its feet Lursac and the missionary were +stretched, gagged, their legs and arms bound and +their clothes torn to ribbons.</p> + +<p>Discovering them, the hunters broke out into +confused clamor, and while Maa-Wang ran to the +two men, the others stood around them watching +them with stupefied glances. Beyond them the +hall unrolled its immensity, surrounded with enormous +square pillars based on fantastic animals who +stretched up towards the dim vaulted room their +preposterous muzzles. In front of each one of +these monsters taken from the old Brahmin legends +flamed a brazier, flinging patches of blood-colored +light on the gray scaly stomachs of these +granite beasts; and on the white tiling of the floor +the reflections of the quivering light mingled with +the flickering shadows in a grotesque dance.</p> + +<p>Pierre, whom the Man had now freed from his +bonds, stood up, staggering and swaying. He could +not understand.... He was still stupefied from +the hours of suspense which he had passed at the +foot of the statue. It seemed to be the continuation +of the evil dream which throughout the night +had harried him without ceasing: the nightmare +of the prehistoric tribe and then of the priestesses.</p> + +<p>But now from all the shadowy recesses and from +all the corners unreached by the lights of the braziers +there seemed to arise sorceresses and Moï warriors. +There must have been a hundred of them, +and their cries and calls echoed and re-echoed +through the sanctuary.</p> + +<p>At their appearance the clan irresolute, turned +back and fluctuated aimlessly. In doubt, Maa-Wang +looked at the two Europeans one after the +other.</p> + +<p>"Her brothers?" he murmured. "That is what +she said...."</p> + +<p>The missionary heard him; he nodded, beginning +to understand, and thinking of Wanda.</p> + +<p>"Her devotion has been useless," he thought. +"We shall never get by them."</p> + +<p>At the same moment pointing out to the Man +the army of priestesses and guards, he said, simply:</p> + +<p>"There are too many of them."</p> + +<p>The Man said nothing. He gave a hoarse sigh +and once again his cry rang out:</p> + +<p>"<i>O ... ô ... iê ... êp....</i>"</p> + +<p>Shaken out of their surprise, the hunters at once +recovered their natural instincts of violence. The +joy of coming battle swelled their breasts and +broke out in guttural exclamations. Maa-Wang, +with Lursac and the missionary on his left hand, +took his place at their head. His lips drawn back +in a grin of fury, his eyes flaming, he dashed upon +the hostile forces. Behind him the clan flung itself +forward like a whirlwind, and suddenly the temple +filled with screams and yells. Raising their axes +like great wood-choppers the men of Gondwana +brought them down in every direction around them. +Skulls split with the crash of their blows: crushed +breasts gave way with a softer sound. The flint +weapons, splashed with blood up to the handles, +became bright red. Over the tumult rang groans +and the death-rattle of those who fell. Two braziers +were over-turned, flinging their flaming coals +right and left, and the smell of burning and a cloud +of smoke mingled with the hot and bitter tang of +blood. The war-cry of the clan, the long and +sonorous <i>o ... ô ... iê ... êp</i> ..., dominated +the strident screams of the sorceresses. A staggering +body, falling, brought down with it other bodies +and the tiled floor became clouded with blood.</p> + +<p>Driven back on itself and ripped to pieces, the +troop of sorceresses slowly gave way. A bo-jaou, +her smashed face spurting blood, jumped at Lursac, +trying to grasp him with clutching hands. +Maa-Wang with a single blow of his fist knocked +her headlong backwards, and plunged forward, his +arms plastered with red patches, his face splashed +with blood, a short low growl coming ceaselessly +from his throat, the true frenzy of fight possessing +him utterly. About a dozen hunters who were all +wounded were cornered in an angle of the building +and fighting a losing fight against an encompassing +mass of Moï warriors; but he gave no thought +to them. His aim was the door of the sanctuary. +In front of him and around him the cluster of battling +human beings swarmed and circled, gave way, +fell and rolled in agony; wounded men, trampled +upon, screamed. A Moï warrior, with an axe sunk +deep in his naked back ran before him, stumbled, +and collapsed.</p> + +<p>The missionary, his rosary in his hand, walked +steadily forward, and the Man, for a second, threw +an astonished glance at this strange being who +walked at his side in the middle of this butchery, +calmly, with a sad face, unarmed and silent. When +they had reached the door, he looked at him a second +time, still without understanding, and saw +him at that very moment fling up his arms, stumble +and fall, his side laid open by a sword blow. +As Lursac with a cry ran to the priest, he stopped +him, leant over quickly, lifted up the body in his +left arm and ran through the doorway. Behind +him, Pierre and some twenty hunters rushed down +the passageway, shouting. Between the walls, +lighted up by the tripods, a confused mass of Moï +warriors and sorceresses was running away. The +hunters in their turn ran. The noise of the battle +grew less and died away behind them and once +more they found themselves in a silence only +broken by the panting of their own breath....</p> + +<p>Outside, in the great court they came to a stop.</p> + +<p>In a corner under a tree the six elephants of +the expedition, recently captured by the Moïs, +were standing tied to the columns; the mahouts +with their arms and legs bound shivered with +fright as they saw these strange beings approaching +them.</p> + +<p>Against the lightening sky, still sown with stars, +stood out the piled-up roofs of the buildings. The +moon, pale and narrow, was pierced by the spike +of one of the turrets. The air was soft and warm. +A gentle breeze which could hardly be felt brought +with it the vast murmur of the surrounding forest.</p> + +<p>Grouped about their chief the hunters stood +waiting.</p> + +<p>Maa-Wang had laid the body of the missionary +on the ground; he looked around, and seeing the +elephants he walked towards them. Dazed, and +with a great gash on his forehead, Pierre had sat +himself down on the root of a banyan tree. From +time to time he mechanically wiped away the blood +which flowed down into his eyes and along his nose. +Exhaustion had left his muscles relaxed and his +nerves in a pitiable state; and he remained there +motionless, shaken by the throbs of his exhausted +heart. Dizziness, against which he vainly tried to +fight, was overcoming him. Every minute he was +coming nearer to complete collapse. He wanted to +get up and walk about, but his drained energy +could not bring itself to the point, and he stayed +there, corpse-like and inert.</p> + +<p>Near by, under the tree, Maa-Wang unbound a +mahout and helped him to hoist himself on to the +neck of one of the animals. Together they came +up to the remnants of the clan and the chief ejaculated +a few words, short and forcible.</p> + +<p>Two men picked up Pierre and carried him to +the kneeling elephant. Maa-Wang himself had +taken charge of the missionary; he had picked him +up in his arms and carried the long thin body +against his breast as one carries a child. Pierre +realized vaguely that he was being bound on to +the back of the beast. Then he felt a sudden pitching +movement, and realized that the animal was +getting up. But although he tried desperately, he +was not strong enough to open his eyes; and he +gave up, and, his will in abeyance, lay supine.</p> + +<p>Maa-Wang then raised his hand. The elephant, +followed by the hunters, moved forward and passing +through the long vaulted entrance came to a +stop again in front of the temple. The tribe, +grouped about their chief, seemed to be waiting. +He stretched out his arm and with a circular gesture +pointed to the great territory which lay +unrolled before him,—the vast scene, which appeared +to have no limits and which the strengthening +light of the day made clearer, showing a confusion +of the great jumbled mass of mountain +crests, plateaus and hills.</p> + +<p>"I promised to lead you to the great hunting +ground, to the country without walls, and it is +before you.... Go!... As for me ... I stay +here.... Someone else whom you will pick for +yourselves will become the Man-who-goes-in-Front."</p> + +<p>He was silent.</p> + +<p>Around him the hunters stood wordless; they +gazed at the new world which was being opened to +them and their faces reflected the contradictory +feelings which swept through their minds: amazed +wonder, the intoxication of endless spaces across +which they were about to travel, and the fear of +the Unknown. One of them suddenly made up his +mind and set off; and the others in small groups +ran after him in their turn.</p> + +<p>Maa-Wang watched them go; and when they had +faded into almost invisible shadows he turned to +the mahout:</p> + +<p>"You are free.... Go. Take these two back +where they came from."</p> + +<p>Without awaiting an answer from the Lao-ese +he lifted the heavy club and brought it down on the +back of the elephant who promptly started forward. +For an instant longer he stared, following +with his eyes the elephant who had already begun +to swing up the slope of the Pou-Kas carrying, +hanging at its sides, the two human bodies.</p> + +<p>Then, turning round, he ran back to the temple.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>He made his way back to the hall of the God, +where the battle had taken place a few minutes +earlier. The signs of it were still visible. Bodies +of dead warriors were strewn pell-mell about the +sanctuary; the white tiling was here and there +stained with large dark patches which grew black +as they coagulated; the dying coals of the over-turned +braziers sent up a bitter-smelling smoke, +the smell of which mingled with the unmistakable +smell of stale blood. In a corner the hunters who +had been overwhelmed by a superior number of +Moï warriors lay in a group of corpses, and the +red furs which they had worn were huddled together +with the broken bodies of the Moï guards, +with whom, tangled together even in death, they +had fought to the bitter end. Axes, lances and +swords lay about on the ground. Groans and the +moaning of a woman lying on her back with a lance +through her chest rose in the cloudy air. At the +foot of a winged dragon a Moï warrior with his +side laid open by a great wound was still twisting +about in his last agony.</p> + +<p>All this he saw as he went, just as he saw vaguely +behind the three silver embroidered veils the enormous +dark red statue in its eternal attitude of +blessing and peace. But he had left it all behind +him, for he had found again the subterranean passage, +the gallery and the cell. And at last he +emerged from the temple at the foot of the giant +foundation-wall.</p> + +<p>The blaze of the sunshine, after the shadows +and darkness of the rooms and corridors which he +had just crossed, dazzled him. He blinked his eyes, +and stopped to make sure of his direction. Then +he ran towards the grotto in which he had enclosed +his prey, the living trophy of his victory. On his +breast, on his left thigh, and on his shoulder, savage +wounds ran blood, but he felt them not. He +thought only of the golden-haired woman. His +desire for her, and the pride of having conquered +as she had told him to, swept from his mind all +other feeling and all consideration of everything +else. He came near the cave in which she was +waiting for him. A last bound brought him to the +entrance—and he saw it yawning open, all the +rocks which he had piled up against it flung to one +side.</p> + +<p>After a short pause of stupefaction, he jumped +into the cave. It was empty. He remained a second +without understanding, looking at the ground +stamped with footmarks, the mouth of the cavern, +and the huge stones flung about the entrance. Then, +bending down, he picked up a strip of white silk +tunic, and this rag, which he recognized as the +same material which Jieng wore as her sacred uniform +and which he found now in the very place +where he had shut up his vanished prey, filled him +with insane rage....</p> + +<p>A cry like that of a wild beast sprang from his +throat. All his animal fury came back in full +force: he rushed towards the temple. A single +thought, a single instinct drove him: to find his +woman, to take her and carry her away.... Once +more he came out into the sanctuary. His face +contorted in frenzy, he looked about him, seeking +and running from one shadowed corner to another, +looking behind the pillars, upsetting the +braziers, savagely mutilating with his axe the +granite idols that he found in his way. His lust +for murder became a paroxysm! He growled without +ceasing; and before his haggard eyes the light +of the brazier fires seemed to grow larger and to +mix one with the other. The hall of the temple +looked red to him ... red ... for he was now +nothing but a brute beast in delirium.... He ran +straight ahead, turning neither to the right nor to +the left; and suddenly he found himself opposite +the three silver veils facing the statue of the God. +He flung himself madly upon them. The curtains, +torn apart, fell upon him. He fought with them, +rending them to shreds and stamping on them. +Then he attacked the image of the God. The arms, +the face, and the metal body of the Divinity splintered +by his club were defaced, broken and wrecked. +It rocked on its base; a final blow flung it crashing +to the ground. Hanging over it he tore from the +image the barbaric collar that it wore about its +neck, then he set himself again to pounding it into +fragments....</p> + +<p>Through the silence the sound of his blows rang +and rang until the idol was nothing but a broken +heap of formless wreckage. Leaving it then, he +resumed his furious course and burst howling into +a corridor. He crossed other halls and other passages, +swinging his club about him at random. +From his open wounds the blood trickled and ran +in streams spattering the tiles and the walls. Fragments +of stone and the splinters from the flint of +his club had struck him in the face; the cuts they +had made had bloodied his forehead and his cheeks. +He was red from his hair to his heels. Everything +that was human in him was in abeyance. He was +now only a male animal, a brute, mad with the +frenzy of battle and disappointed desire.</p> + +<p>He continued his aimless rush through the temple, +crossing room after room; but now on his way +phantoms slid from his path and hid themselves +behind pillars, reappearing behind him, following +his course and accompanying him, invisible, but +every moment more numerous. At last he arrived +in a narrow room without any other exit than a +lofty door, above which, on a cornice formed by a +heavy marble slab the granite image of a giant +dragon stood on guard. He ran straight for the +door but just as he was crossing the threshold with +a sudden crash the dragon fell, pinning him to the +ground....</p> + +<p>He fell without a cry.</p> + +<p>And while the priestesses swarmed out from all +the dark corners and ran towards him, two sorceresses, +crouched on the edge of the cornice from +which they had pushed the fallen dragon, leant +over and watched the trickles of blood which began +to flow and spread from under the massive +stone monster....</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</h2> +</div> + +<h3>ESCAPE</h3> + + +<p>The elephant, with a heavy swinging gait, made +its way through the green shade of the forest. +Hanging from its side Lursac, with wide open eyes, +shivered all over. Around him floated the stagnant, +decaying smell of the undergrowth, like the +sickening and enervating atmosphere of a hot +greenhouse. The vegetation became thicker. A +dull greenish half-light, like an illumination at +the bottom of the sea, seemed to suck the color +from the bushes and spread over the massed verdure +a uniform light as of the interior of a tomb.</p> + +<p>Hours passed thus, and finally the light grew +dimmer. An acrid mist rising from the soil spread +itself in long streamers and floated upward like +a pallid veil. Under the frondage the dusk became +more sombre and violent in tint; a shaft of reddish +light struck through the branches, lingered for a +moment; then suddenly darkness spread over the +mountain and invaded the depths of the forest. +The mahout continued to urge on his beast. The +voices of the night arose, and unknown cries came +out of the darkness. But now Pierre was delirious. +Great phantoms, grotesque and nameless, danced +and fled before his eyes. Imaginary scenes rose +up before him, and with all his strength he tried +to pursue them. He could not sleep; he hung +there motionless watching the peopled night before +him with fixed eyes....</p> + +<p>In his waxen and rigid face only his eyes seemed +to be still alive. They stared straight in front with +a burning gaze focussed in the far distance. Now +and again the strange shapes which inhabited the +darkness caused him to break into a terrified laugh. +The suspension of his reasoning powers had left +him just a wounded animal clinging to life in spite +of everything, with nothing but a persistent instinct +to guide him.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Father Ravennes, his head hanging +loose and jerking with the steps of the elephant, +began to groan. His moans broke the heavy silence +of the night steadily, persistently, with a +sound that was gently monotonous. And this was +the last noise which Pierre remembered before falling +into the depths of an unconsciousness as deep +as death.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>It was still this moaning that he heard when he +came out of his insensibility and had begun reaching +towards life again. He opened his eyes. It +was day. Above his head he saw the leafy summit +of a tree—the only thing within his circle of vision—with +branches of a green that was almost +black and leaves of a more vivid hue. He tried to +move, to sit up, but an intense weakness held him +full length on the earth, his backbone pressed to +the cold damp soil and his face staring at the sky +and watching through the leaves the trailing +streaks of gray cloud.</p> + +<p>He did not understand it yet. What was he doing +there? Why were these trees all round him?</p> + +<p>The groaning continued. Now and then it +stopped, but went on again more heavily. He +turned his head in the direction of the sound and +he found, a few paces away from him, the missionary, +his back supported against the trunk of a +tamarind, his eyes closed, his face livid, and his +half-open mouth emitting this endless moaning.</p> + +<p>Suddenly his brain was flooded by a wave of +remembrance which swept away his passive acceptance +of things as they were. He struggled to +his knees and cried out:</p> + +<p>"Wanda!... Wanda!..."</p> + +<p>Clutching the tree under which he had been +lying, he managed to stand up, but he had to cling +to the trunk to prevent himself falling. Leaning +against it he cast a hesitating glance about him. +He was on the outside of the forest, opposite a +narrow clearing which ended in a definite opening, +looking out upon a valley of which he was +able to see the further end stretching southward +to the horizon. Close by him, at his very feet, a +ray of light struck down between two branches and +broke in fragments of gold on the patches of moss. +The dense shadows of the trees fell on the ground +in parallel bars of black shade. A lizard, pressed +into the warm hollows of the rock, shrilled its short +musical cry. Dazed, and with flickering eyes, Lursac +remained motionless. The sun flamed overhead, +flooding the scene beyond the forest with +merciless light. The radiant air seemed to vibrate.</p> + +<p>The young man drew in one deep breath after +another; the blood came back to his face and he +cried again:</p> + +<p>"Wanda!... Wanda!..."</p> + +<p>At the sound of his voice the priest opened his +eyes and his groaning became louder and more +heart-rending. Pierre shook his head, trying with +every ounce of strength that was in him to conquer +his weakness. He managed to walk heavily and +slowly in the direction of the missionary. When +he got close up to him he felt like fainting at the +terrible sight which he saw.</p> + +<p>The whole side of the priest's tunic was stiff with +coagulated blood. In the middle of this, through +the rents made by the Moï sword, two ghastly +wounds could be seen covered with ants,—the terrible +red ants of the Lao-ese forest—which swarmed +to the attack in a column along the leg of the helpless +man.</p> + +<p>Before the horror of the martyrdom which the +missionary was undergoing and must have suffered +for hours, Lursac shuddered and had to clench his +teeth to prevent himself from crying out. He ran +at the insects and dispersed them with stamps and +blows, sweeping them away with his hands and +tramping them into the ground. Then he pushed +the priest a little further off to protect him from +their attacks and laid him gently down. Tenderly +raising the edges of the tears in the clothes he exposed +the two wounds: a great deep slash in the +side through which at every respiration the blood +pumped afresh, and down the leg a long jagged +tear. With a strip from the lining of his military +tunic, Pierre cleaned the wounds, sweeping out the +voracious insects which still clung there, and did +his pitiful best to make the dying man comfortable. +It was when he saw his own hands bathed in the +blood of his friend like those of a butcher that +once again a mortal sickness came over him and he +was on the point of fainting.</p> + +<p>The priest closed his eyes; he was no longer +groaning. He murmured:</p> + +<p>"Thank you.... I am not in pain now...."</p> + +<p>Trying to raise his hand, he whispered:</p> + +<p>"My cross."</p> + +<p>Pierre, taking off the rosary of black wood which +hung from the missionary's neck, put it between +his fingers. The pale hand fumbled with the beads +until it reached the silver cross, which it gripped +caressingly. His features suddenly relaxed and +took on an appearance of peaceful sweetness.</p> + +<p>"And you ... you? ..." he muttered.</p> + +<p>Pierre understood his thought; tears rose to his +eyes.</p> + +<p>He shrugged his shoulders wearily.</p> + +<p>"Don't worry about me," he said, "I will take +you home.... Afterwards ... afterwards ... I +do not know...."</p> + +<p>The priest moved his head; his voice became +stronger, almost clear:</p> + +<p>"No.... I am done for.... I am dying ... +here in the heart of this country which I have loved +so much and where I have suffered so much...."</p> + +<p>His gray beard suddenly seemed to become +darker against the livid pallor of his face.</p> + +<p>"And then, I have seen," he said, "that wonderful +thing, the Red Gods: a prehistoric tribe such +as used to be thirty thousand years ago...."</p> + +<p>A scarcely visible smile fluttered on his colorless +lips.</p> + +<p>"My God," he whispered, "pardon me!... This +is my last attack of pride...."</p> + +<p>He gave a groan; the movement having sent a +spasm of torture through his side, he shut his eyes. +His wax-like lids became gradually mauve, then +white with a whiteness that seemed unreal and +almost transparent.</p> + +<p>Pierre bent over him, heard him murmuring +softly, peacefully:</p> + +<p>"Since it is here that you have willed that I +should die.... Thy holy will be done, O +God!..."</p> + +<p>Then in a voice now vague and indistinct he +said once more:</p> + +<p>"Sweet Jesus, give me rest!..."</p> + +<p>His words became still more indistinct and confused, +and he repeated several times:</p> + +<p>"Rest ... rest...."</p> + +<p>And then he was silent. The pale and shrunken +hand which pressed the crucifix against his lips +stiffened, slipped, and fell back on his breast.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>For a long time Pierre remained on his knees +in contemplation before this ascetic, sad, waxen +face now smiling with a curious smile—peaceful, +tender and serene—a last gleam from this great +sweet and kindly soul....</p> + +<p>Then in a sort of unconscious torpor, against +which vague images floated, flickered and vanished, +he thought of the conventional rites; but the earth +in which he would have dug a bed for this poor +martyred body was cold and hard, full of tangled +roots and crossed by veins of rock, and he had to +content himself with drawing the corpse to the foot +of a tree and covering it with a thick mass of +leaves, branches and moss. From the branch of the +tree above he hung the rosary of the priest, and +over the rough and ready tomb the silver crucifix +swung softly in the breeze.</p> + +<p>When Pierre had finished this last office for his +dead friend, he sat down and wiped the sweat from +his face. He stayed motionless, delving among the +remembrances of his childhood for the words of +a prayer, but nothing came—only a single phrase +kept recurring to his mind, and he repeated it +mechanically over and over again:</p> + +<p>"Our Father which art in Heaven.... Our +Father which art in Heaven...."</p> + +<p>The rest of the invocation had lost itself in the +troubled night of forgetfulness, in a mingling and +changing wave of images, thoughts and feelings +which rushed into his mind, passed through it and +fled....</p> + +<p>Wanda.... The Post.... Redeski.... The +temple.... The ravine of Gondwana.... The aurochs.... +The mammoths.... Jieng.... The battle +in the sanctuary.... The caverns.... And +then Wanda again.... Wanda.... Wanda.... +Wanda...!</p> + +<p>He stood up: an immense despair fell upon him. +He looked again at the simple tomb in which the +missionary was sleeping; then he went. His legs +bent under him with weakness, his brain reeled, +as he walked towards the edge of the clearing. At +the same moment a bell in the distance began to +sound slowly. Stupefaction struck Pierre motionless, +then a shock drove him forwards. A bell: +houses, ... white men, ... help, ... life.... +He ran forward stumbling, and, suddenly opening +his arms wide, he fell on his knees.</p> + +<p>At the bottom of the green, level valley, which +he saw before him and recognized immediately, +there was no longer any Post 32.... Its wrecked +palisades showed great breaches. Against the +background of the canal, which flowed peaceably +on its way as usual, the burned piling showed its +blackened stumps: of the huts which had sheltered +Wanda and himself so recently, of the sheds which +served as lodgings for the riflemen, of the stables +and the guardhouse, nothing was left but five gray +patches out of which stuck blackened beams.</p> + +<p>But on the horizon, in the midst of its green +peaceful oasis the bell of the Mission still sounded, +and across the military post, which the people of +the forest had just destroyed for the third time, its +frail metallic voice was wafted on the wind, ringing +the evening Angelus.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI</h2> +</div> + +<h3>A MESSAGE FROM JIENG</h3> + + +<p>Buttoning up his waistcoat, Pierre went to +the window and pushed open the blinds. A +wave of sunlight flooded his little room, lighting up +the whitewashed walls and making the copper-mounted +bed sparkle. Under its influence, the +odor of drugs which had filled the room seemed +to evaporate from the two arm-chairs and the +bamboo table loaded with pots and bottles. Outside, +the clock that ornamented the façade of the +hospital struck the hour, five clear leisurely strokes, +which fell slowly, one by one, in the vast sluggishness +of the afternoon. Other blinds were +thrown back noisily, and little by little life pursued +its daily resurrection after the torrid hours of the +siesta.</p> + +<p>Leaning on his elbows at his window, Pierre let +his glance wander over the familiar scene. Beyond +the great veranda which ran the whole length +of the building, and upon which the rooms of the +patients opened, he could see the hospital park +spreading out with its green turf and leafy trees, +and between them the sanded walks, stretching +like yellow ribbons striped alternately with shadow +and sunlight. Far off, half seen through the gaps +in the foliage, shone the whiteness of the hospital +wall which kept at a distance the noise and the +traffic of Saigon.</p> + +<p>Pierre stretched himself and tried his muscles. +He felt himself very weak, his nerves flabby and +his body heavy; the slowness and uncertainty of +each of his movements showing him how complete +had been his physical breakdown, how deep and +lasting the disarrangement of his vital mechanism +to which five months of hospital treatment had +only succeeded in bringing back a weak illusion +of energy, a pretense of strength.... He smiled +bitterly. Nothing would ever bring back to him +the vigor of his body, the richness and the freshness +of his blood—in a word, his youth!... And +his mind itself, disrupted by suffering, suddenly +appeared to him old, worn out and pitiful.</p> + +<p>The noise of the door opening behind him interrupted +his gloomy thoughts.</p> + +<p>He turned about, raising his sallow face to the +Sister of Charity who had just entered. She +smiled softly, with that self-effacing smile which +was habitual with her:</p> + +<p>"Well, my child, I hope you are pleased. Today +for the first time you are to be allowed to go out +into the park."</p> + +<p>He made no answer, keeping his expression of +indifference and depression.</p> + +<p>She shook her head, making the white wings +of her head-dress flap to and fro:</p> + +<p>"How do you feel?"</p> + +<p>She looked into his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Come," said she, "that's enough of those black +thoughts. Come for a walk outside—the sun will +do you good."</p> + +<p>He bowed his head and remained motionless and +lifeless.</p> + +<p>"Listen, Sister Thérèse," he said, "I want...."</p> + +<p>He hesitated, his eyes sought the eyes of the +sister:</p> + +<p>"What?" she asked, "still full of questions, eh? +How did you get here? This is the twentieth time +you have asked me that, but I know nothing about +it, my child. If I knew, I would tell you, you know +that! Why should I want to hide it from you? +But no, I promise you.... They brought you here +one evening; I was on duty, and I took you in and +looked after you. You were delirious, and I +thought,—I can tell you this now that you are +practically cured—that you were going to slip +away from me. And then you had an attack of +gastritis complicated with brain-fever and you +talked ... you talked...."</p> + +<p>Pierre raised his head quickly.</p> + +<p>"What did I say?"</p> + +<p>"How do I know? If you think I take notice +of all the nonsense my patients talk! I have lots +of other things to think about. First of all I had +to prevent you getting out of bed, and your one +idea was to dress yourself and start off."</p> + +<p>She spoke lightly, accompanying her phrases +with gestures. Underneath her words could be +felt the joy which she experienced in seeing this +patient of hers, for whose life she had fought hour +by hour, up and about again. She took his arm +and shook it affectionately.</p> + +<p>"Now, go, you stupid!" she said. "Underneath +the wall over there you will find your friends. +Talk with them: it will ease your mind. They will +tell you the latest scandal of Saigon. You will +see, they have lots of jokes—at least I suppose so +from hearing their shouts of laughter—for they +take very good care never to tell them to me, the +scamps!"</p> + +<p>And she pushed him out of the door and shut it +behind his back with a little laugh.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Pierre found himself under the veranda. The +sweetish smell of the bougainvilleas in flower, the +stems of which crept in masses over the wooden +balustrade, floated heavily in the air and mingled +with the stale odor of drugs, whiffs of which +escaped from the open door. Rolled up in rugs, +their skeleton-like bodies loose in the hospital +pyjamas of gray wool, the convalescents lay, trying +to accustom their eyes to the blazing light which +fell from a cloudless sky the color of deep turquoise. +A gentle breeze drifted among the deck-chairs, +enveloping the patients with its kindly +warmth.</p> + +<p>Pierre went down a staircase and came out into +an avenue. He walked slowly with short steps as +groping and uncertain as his thoughts. In the +middle of a circle of turf a watering-pipe sent up +a mist of spray which the setting sun edged with +a miniature rainbow. A vast peace lay over the +whole park,—a satisfying and contemplative silence +broken only here and there by the sudden +whistlings of birds. Pierre, following his course, +came into an avenue of flame-trees: on the bare +earth large purple blossoms fallen from the +branches made spots of vivid red across the patches +of shade which were riddled with little circles of +sunlight ceaselessly trembling and dancing among +them.</p> + +<p>At the end of the avenue a chorus of cries greeted +him:</p> + +<p>"Aha, Lursac! Out for the first time?"</p> + +<p>"This is better than the native huts!"</p> + +<p>Pierre acknowledged the greetings with a weary +movement of his hand.</p> + +<p>There were four of them—four young men +escaped like himself from the privations of the +forest and re-united here by the chances of sickness. +One down from Cambodia, two from the +Chinese frontier and the fourth just brought in +from Cochin-China.</p> + +<p>This last said to him:</p> + +<p>"Yes ... it is a good deal better. As for me, +when they let me out after three months in +bed...."</p> + +<p>And he went off into a long account of his own +convalescence.</p> + +<p>Pierre lay back in an arm-chair by the table on +which playing-cards were lying about in disorder +by open newspapers.</p> + +<p>The man who had spoken first—a big fellow +with laughing eyes and sarcastic mouth—took one +of the papers, unfolded it, looking for something.</p> + +<p>"Here you are, old chap. There's something +about you in this ... half a column at least. 'The +famous Post 32 again!' Good heading, eh? As +for the article, it is a regular wonder, nothing better +was ever invented in any editorial office!"</p> + +<p>Pierre stretched out his hand for it.</p> + +<p>"No, listen.... I'll read it to you out loud. +It is worth the trouble!..."</p> + +<p>And in his mocking voice he declaimed:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> + +<p class="ph2">"'THE FAMOUS POST 32 AGAIN</p> + +<p>"'Without doubt our readers will remember +the tragedy which took place here some +five months ago at the foot of the Pou-Kas, +the scene of which was Post 32, long celebrated +in the annals of our Indo-Chinese history. +For those of our readers who have forgotten +this sad affair we will give a brief +resumé of it. M. de Lursac, a young administrator +with splendid prospects ... (I salute +you, my boy; the Press admires you! It +is the only original passage in the article. I +continue:) ... a young administrator with +splendid prospects was despatched at his own +request to Post 32, the responsibility for which +he was to share with Lieutenant Redeski. Administrator +Lursac had been ordered to proceed, +on taking up his duties, with a police +operation against the independent Moï tribes +of the district. Everybody still remembers +the result of this expedition. Starting out in +company with the Rev. Father Ravennes, of +the Apostolic Mission to the Banhars, M. de +Lursac was found a month later wandering +in the forest in a condition of collapse and +sickness which left the possibility of his recovery +doubtful for a long time. His escort +of native riflemen scattered in continual attacks, +his elephants killed by poisoned arrows, +his reverend companion dead by the +way of a wound received in an ambush, he +was alone in the midst of the vast Lao-ese +forest. M. de Lursac was attempting to find +his way back to the Post when he fell, conquered +by weakness and exhaustion; but he +had succeeded, thanks to an extraordinary +will power ... (I greet you once more!) +... in reaching the outskirts of it, and it was +at a distance of only a few miles from the station +which had been destroyed during his absence +that the converts of Father Ravennes +discovered the young administrator, dying, +and in a state of destitution impossible to describe. +We understand that a successor to +him has just been appointed. Would it not be +better before uselessly sacrificing the lives +and energies of our young men ... (All salute +him, gentlemen!) ... to first of all set to +work seriously to clean out the district and +to put down with an iron hand this rebellious +horde that makes our rule over this part of +the hinterland simply illusory? It appears to +us indeed, impossible that the authorities who +pretend to be so anxious about it, etc., etc.'</p> +</div> + +<p>"Then follows a whole list of suggestions—all +illusory, as the editor of this estimable journal +would say—in which the Colonial Government gets +a few of these truths which it is customary to hand +it on occasion.... What have you got to say about +it, young administrator of most splendid prospects?"</p> + +<p>He stopped speaking. All eyes turned to Lursac. +He considered. What could he tell them? The +truth!... Ah! the truth!... He shrugged +his shoulders, deciding to leave uncontradicted the +fantastic version given by the Saigon papers.</p> + +<p>But the other obstinately asked a definite question:</p> + +<p>"How much truth is there in all this nonsense?"</p> + +<p>Pierre felt that it was necessary to give some +answer.</p> + +<p>"Sentences here and there!" he said, evasively. +"It was very simple.... The <i>linhs</i> deserted almost +at once; the mahouts in their turn got away with +their animals and all the provisions, so that I +found myself one fine day alone with Father Ravennes, +who had been wounded the night before during +an attack on a village. We wandered through +the forest aimlessly, straying here and there and +going in a circle and then ... and then...."</p> + +<p>He shut his eyes. An unconquerable lassitude +fell upon him, he lay back heavily in his chair.</p> + +<p>"And then," continued the voice of one of the +young men, "you woke up in hospital. Here or +elsewhere it is always the same story. Some leave +their skins behind and others bring them out with +them. That's life, that is!... They give us an +order, we carry it out. As for the rest, it all depends +on the will of Buddha. As my girl says to +me, 'We are in the hands of the Perfect One!'"</p> + +<p>He crumpled up the paper, rolled it into a ball +and flung it over the wall.</p> + +<p>There was a long silence. In the street which +ran just the other side of the wall, the rhythmic +trot of a rickshaw coolie came up, passed by, and +died into the distance, and then a song rose; it +was the song of a beggar imploring charity in a +tremulous tearful voice. The sun, slowly descending, +shot slanting rays of light across the avenues +of the park. The sky, changing slowly through +gold and purple, became mauve: the piping birds +sounded more softly and less often: an invisible +bell behind the wall of trees and buildings sounded +out in short repeated strokes.</p> + +<p>The young men got up.</p> + +<p>"Are you coming, Lursac?"</p> + +<p>Pierre was recalling the past. Once more he +saw Ravennes and the humble tomb of greenery +above it; and in the depths of the vast Lao-ese forest +the rosary that would swing its crucifix of tarnished +silver whenever the wind blew from the +north down the slope of the Pou-Kas. He thought +of Wanda. Where was she, and what had become +of her? Was she still a prisoner of the tribe? +Prisoner?...</p> + +<p>He saw again the wild rush of the men of Gondwana. +He thought of the love of their chief for +Wanda. Prisoner? Ah!... Ah!...</p> + +<p>A hand shook him:</p> + +<p>"Lursac! Here, Lursac! When are you going +to finish dreaming with your eyes open? The first +dinner bell has just rung. Are you coming?"</p> + +<p>Suddenly the song of the beggar on the other +side of the wall died away.</p> + +<p>Pierre shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I have plenty of time," he said, "it is still quarter +of an hour to the second bell."</p> + +<p>The young men, careless, left him. One of them +began telling a scandalous story which was going +the round in Saigon. Gradually his voice and the +laughter of his fellows became indistinct as they +moved away.</p> + +<p>Once more fallen into a revery, Pierre felt a bitter +pleasure in again going over his sufferings in +detail. Suddenly his former despair fell upon +him. Again he was tortured,—perhaps more terribly +than he had ever been. His grief which had +remained in abeyance during his illness came alive +again. His heart contracted; he called out, +hoarsely:</p> + +<p>"Wanda!... Wanda!..."</p> + +<p>Behind the tall white wall the dragging footstep +of the beggar and her song came again—then +something pale, flung from the street, fell on an +arm-chair, rebounded and rolled on the ground. +Pierre, surprised, remained motionless for a second. +The song had again ceased and hurried steps +could be heard making away. Bending down he +picked up the object and examined it. It was a +packet, carefully done up in a dirty rag. Opening +it with an instinctive fear he looked at the contents +and seized with a convulsive fit of trembling +remained nailed to his seat, incapable of moving.... +Then, he rushed to the entrance gate. The +rifleman on guard, scared at his violence, watched +him go out without making any effort to stop him. +There was not a soul in the street. Pierre made +the complete circuit of the hospital, running as +hard as he could, coming back to the entrance gate. +Then dashing into the next street he followed it +exhausted, his heart beating so as to suffocate +him, until he could run no longer. His clenched +hand clung to the packet.</p> + +<p>About him people hurried to and fro, elbowing +him and pushing him aside without his noticing it. +At the corner of the boulevard he was almost run +over. The coachman, flinging himself back on his +seat with the reins pulled up tight, dragged his +ponies to one side and missed him by an inch, cursing +him volubly. He heard him not and noticed +nothing. His eyes looking straight before him +saw a phantom which fled him ceaselessly and +which he as ceaselessly pursued.</p> + +<p>At last, opposite a shop window he pulled up. +The glass of the window reflected his own image +and he looked at it for a moment with stupefaction. +Was that he?... This fleshless skeleton of a +body ... with gestures feverish, ugly and grotesque? +Was that the body of him, Pierre de Lursac?... +That livid face, all flat hollows and +projecting bones; this withered flesh; these wrinkles; +these eyes shining with fever and yet dull; +these loose burned up lips—all these things ... +were they his eyes, his face, his mouth?... He +gave a terrible grin and clenched his fists; the +packet which he was still carrying crackled.... +And once more he resumed his aimless way.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Under the arched trees along the avenues the +shade was deeper. Rickshaws and carriages went +about hurriedly to unknown destinations. The +usual life cast up its flood of passers-by, its under-current +of natives, its noises, its smells;—and he, +among it all, was like a scrap of flotsam drifting +at random.... Then night fell, and lights shone +through the dark. They became fewer and disappeared +altogether for a while, for he was following +a road which led out of the city and ran +across the open country.</p> + +<p>He still kept going.... He came to a canal and +followed it. The voices of sampan men came to +him and the smell of Annamese cooking. At long +distances between, a victoria, a malabar and a few +rickshaws passed him or met him. The light of +their lanterns striking out in the darkness threw +a brief illumination upon him and shed a narrow, +yellow light on the opposite side of the road which +quickly fled away from him and disappeared....</p> + +<p>Then, again, he found himself in the neighborhood +of a crowd of human beings, the lights and +the human scurryings of a native village. And +suddenly he came to himself. With a flash the +cloud of hallucination which had encompassed him +fell away and vanished. He looked about him with +haggard eyes. He was on the outskirts of Cho-lon. +On his left he could see the dark furrow of the canal +crowded with a mass of junks and sampans and +spotted with enormous native lamps; on his right +the houses of the Chinese town rose with their +colored lanterns and flamboyant signs and gildings +and their stalls.</p> + +<p>He hesitated. Casting a heavy glance over the +canal with its black and oily water, stagnant between +its muddy banks, he then turned towards +the town and saw in front of him a shop above +which a panel of black lacquer bore in gold letters +the name of the proprietor. He read mechanically +between two columns of Chinese characters:</p> + +<p class="ph2">TSEN-TAC</p> + +<p class="ph2">CHINESE CURIOS AND SILKS</p> + +<p class="ph2">CANTON. SAIGON. SHANGHAI.</p> + + +<p>He said to himself:</p> + +<p>"Tsen-Tac?... Tsen-Tac?..."</p> + +<p>This name brought to life in some obscure corner +of his mind a sleeping memory. Suddenly he remembered: +at the bottom of the passageway in +the inner shop: Opium,—the drug that gives forgetfulness +and peace.</p> + +<p>Making up his mind he walked to the door and +pushed it open violently. The pot-bellied owner, +with his little narrow eyes lost among the billowings +of his vast face, greeted him with an obsequious +smile. He was already framing a phrase of +welcome when Pierre cut him short with a rough +shrug of the shoulders.</p> + +<p>"Shandoo," he said heavily.</p> + +<p>And he rattled several piastres in the bottom of +his pocket.</p> + +<p>The "compere"<a id="FNanchor_20_20" href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> made his smile still broader. +His fat face took on an air of secrecy. He flung a +cautious look around the empty shop and then with +his hand, sparkling with rings of pink and green +jade, he pointed to a hanging in the furthest corner.</p> + +<p>Pierre, raising it, slid into the passage. In front +of him at the further end stood a door, lighted by a +dim lantern of figured silk. He stopped for a second, +pushing his hands into his pockets. With a +hoarse sigh, he felt the packet which had come +to him in such a strange manner a few hours earlier +and he began to withdraw his hand slowly, +bringing out with it towards the light the.... +A shudder shook him from head to foot. He could +not complete the movement; more haggard than +before, if possible, he bent his head....</p> + +<p>"I cannot ... not yet.... Later ... presently.... +When I have smoked ten pipes ... +twelve pipes.... When the opium has.... Then, +yes.... I will see if it is really her ... her hand +... with the ring ... my signet ring...."</p> + +<p>An uncontrollable sob shook him.</p> + +<p>Once more he repeated:</p> + +<p>"Her hand ... her hand...."</p> + +<p>And he pushed open the door and entered the +opium den.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_1_1" href="#FNanchor_1_1" class="label">[1]</a> Captain Jacques Bressond fell on the French front, July 28, +1917, in the attack on the Chemin des Dames. At the bottom of +his dispatch case among the personal souvenirs which he had +asked me to send to his family if he was killed, there lay a large +yellow, commercial-looking envelope with the inscription "For Jean." In the envelope there were the pages that follow, accompanied +by a roll of parchment covered with unknown characters, +probably in the Banhar language. My sole care has been to see +to the publication of Bressond's text with a mixed feeling of +respect and tenderness for his heroic death and friendship for +the man himself. Although the names given by Bressond are +real ones I have not changed a single word of his story, for the +correctness of which I take full responsibility.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">J. d'E.</span></p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_2_2" href="#FNanchor_2_2" class="label">[2]</a> Very well, sir.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_3_3" href="#FNanchor_3_3" class="label">[3]</a> Quick, quick!</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_4_4" href="#FNanchor_4_4" class="label">[4]</a> Start forward, quickly.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_5_5" href="#FNanchor_5_5" class="label">[5]</a> "Moon" is used by the Indo-Chinese natives to signify a single +phase of the moon, not a month, which would be four "moons."</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_6_6" href="#FNanchor_6_6" class="label">[6]</a> Sorceress; <i>Bia-bo-Jaou</i>: Queen of the sorceresses, the high +priestess.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_7_7" href="#FNanchor_7_7" class="label">[7]</a> France.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_8_8" href="#FNanchor_8_8" class="label">[8]</a> Altar for performing incantations.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_9_9" href="#FNanchor_9_9" class="label">[9]</a> An independent tribe of Upper Laos.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_10_10" href="#FNanchor_10_10" class="label">[10]</a> The night-watches are four in number, of three hours each, +beginning at six o'clock in the evening.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_11_11" href="#FNanchor_11_11" class="label">[11]</a> A greenish gray discoloration which occurs on ancient bronzes +and other worked articles.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_12_12" href="#FNanchor_12_12" class="label">[12]</a> Faint branching marks, which occur on flints which have been +worked by men of prehistoric times. These designs are due to +the long-continued oxidisation of the iron and manganese in the +stone.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_13_13" href="#FNanchor_13_13" class="label">[13]</a> What is it?</p> + +<p>They have gone, they have fled!</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_14_14" href="#FNanchor_14_14" class="label">[14]</a> A Cambodian girl.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_15_15" href="#FNanchor_15_15" class="label">[15]</a> Father Ravennes was considerably out in his estimate. The +continent of Gondwana of which he spoke dates from the first +part of the secondary era in which the great Hercynian upheaval +took place. The discovery of radium has given us a +method of establishing the distance of that era from our time as +about four million years. If we admit then that the Gondwana +ravine discovered by Lursac and Ravennes only dated from the +end of the secondary era it would be separated from the present +day by the entire tertiary era and the beginning of the quaternary +era in which we now are. According to the calculations of Dana, +of Lord Kelvin and of Edmond Perrier, the tertiary era and what +has elapsed of the quaternary make a total of at least one million +five hundred thousand years.</p> + +</div> + + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_16_16" href="#FNanchor_16_16" class="label">[16]</a> Father Ravennes was here making allusion to the traditions +of antiquity which are all agreed on the existence of a prehistoric +race called the Red Race which must have been the first human +race. This Red Race was that of the masters, the Gods. The +Egyptian bas-reliefs show (writes M. Michel Manzi in a remarkable +scientific work) that there were then four races, the red, +the yellow, the black and the white. In India the famous Rutas +who are traditionally supposed to have brought civilization to +the world are represented as red men. All the most ancient +peoples, the Iberians, Basques, Chaldeans, etc., claimed to have +been of this color and to be descended from the sons of Ad the +first man, the Red. The word Adam indeed means Red Man.... +The Arabs also claim descent from the sons of Ad, the great +antediluvian race, the race of giants who erected vast buildings of +hewn stone.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_17_17" href="#FNanchor_17_17" class="label">[17]</a> This confirms very precisely the hypothesis made earlier by +Father Ravennes. The Red Gods of the Pou-Kas would, according +to this, be a preserved branch of the great antediluvian race of +the sons of Ad. From these, according to the sacred writings of +India, the different races that peopled the earth had their origin: +first the red race and then the yellow race. The first included, +the Rmoahal, the Zlavakis, the Zoltecs. The Rmoahal, who are +evidently the red gods of Lursac's history are described as follows: +"This was the most ancient race—four or five million years +old. The men were walnut brown and very tall—ten to twelve +feet. At the time of the great earth cataclysm they emigrated +towards Upper Asia."</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_18_18" href="#FNanchor_18_18" class="label">[18]</a> The "Slow Death" was, to be precise, invented by the emperor +Gia-Long, founder of the dynasty of Nguyen. He practiced it on +the daughters of Huë, chief of the Tay-Son rebels, and on thirty +members of his family. Here is the description of the torture +given by the Annamese historian, Truong-Vin-Ky: "First the flesh +of the limbs is cut off strip by strip and the bones are broken. +After which the abdomen of the victim is cut open and his viscera +removed. Finally after his left hand has been cut off at the wrist +the limbs are chopped off at the trunk. This left hand is then +embalmed and sent to the family of the criminal in order that +they may remember his fate and meditate upon it."</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_19_19" href="#FNanchor_19_19" class="label">[19]</a> Chief of the sorceresses.</p> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a id="Footnote_20_20" href="#FNanchor_20_20" class="label">[20]</a> Name given to the Chinese.</p> + +</div> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p class="ph2">[Transcriber's Note: Inconsistent hyphenation left as printed.]</p> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 79053 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/79053-h/images/cover.jpg b/79053-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..aa2189a --- /dev/null +++ b/79053-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6c72794 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0991517 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +[Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook [#79053](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79053) |
