THE DAUGHTER OF THE SUN
At first my dimmed eyes beheld her through a mist, my hands shaking as
if stricken by palsy, nor did I retain sufficient strength of body to
uplift myself from the spot where I had fallen with the force of my
blow. Nevertheless I shall forever retain the vivid picture imprinted
on memory. Before us stood a tall, fair-skinned woman, having dignity
of command in every movement, her face thin, strong, dominant, with
large, dark, passionate eyes, flashing in scornful beauty over the
excited warriors at her feet. Pride, power, imperious will, a scarcely
hidden tigerish cruelty, were in every line of her features; yet she
remained strikingly handsome, with that rare beauty which drives men
mad and laughs mockingly at its victims. She was robed completely in
red, the brilliant color harmonizing strangely with her countenance,
the single outer garment extending, devoid of ornament, from throat to
heel, loosely gathered at the waist, and resembling in form and drapery
those pictures I have seen of Roman togas, while her magnificent wealth
of hair, of richest reddish gold, appeared to shimmer and glow in the
sparkle of leaping flames as if she wore a tiara of rubies.
With quick, passionate speech she poured forth her purpose, and I saw
the savage throng shrink before her, as if they knew and dreaded the
outburst of her anger. Yet, as she paused breathless, the old
war-chief ventured to face her, returning a stern reply. This
disregard of her temper so imparted courage to the others that they
rallied about their leader as one man, numerous hoarse voices
supplementing his protest, until it was plain to be seen that the woman
remained alone and unsupported against the savage crew. Yet the lines
of determination but deepened in her face, her lips curled in scorn,
and she turned from them to look down where we were huddled in despair.
A moment her flashing eyes swept across our upturned faces, the howls
of her opponents growing fiercer on every side. With one imperious
gesture she commanded silence, and, as the gruff voices died away in
muttered discontent, the woman addressed us, speaking a clear, pure
Spanish, making use now and then of words unknown to me.
"Prisoners, can any among you interpret my speech?"
I caught my breath in glad surprise, struggling to my feet, and making
haste to answer.
"If you speak slowly," I said, "I shall be able to understand."
"'Tis well, as it is a tongue unknown to these Indians," her eyes
lighting up with cunning. "Then, Señor, mark with care what I say,
and, if the meaning of any escape your ears, bid me speak again, so no
mistake be made."
"It will give me great pleasure, O Queen."
"I am the Daughter of the Sun," she interposed proudly, as if
correcting my mode of address. "These are my children, given unto me
by the great Sun-god. For what purpose have you of white skin dared
invade the land of the Sun?"
"We knew nothing of your presence here, merely seeking a passage
through these mountains northward."
"But you killed the warriors of our nation; you have stricken the
people of the Sun."
"True, Daughter of the Sun; yet it was done only in self-defence. When
attacked we struck hard blows."
Her eyes glowed angrily, her face becoming cruelly hard.
"None of white blood may set foot in this valley and live. It is the
land of the Sun," she said haughtily. "None have ever before ventured
to do so, and found safe way back to their own. Are you French?"
[Illustration: "I am the Daughter of the Sun. These are my children,
given unto me by the great Sun-god. . . . None of white blood may set
foot in this valley and live."]
"Not all,--the lady and yonder cavalier are of French blood, I am a
hunter of the Ohio country, while he who crouches beyond also calls
himself American."
"I know nothing of your Ohio, nor what may be an American," she replied
with an impatient stamp of the foot, "but it is bad any among you
should prove French. What does the woman do here?"
In a few brief sentences I told our story, marking as I spoke that she
followed my words with care. As I concluded she merely gazed more
closely into Madame's upturned face, speaking as though communing with
herself.
"She has the appearance of a fair woman; we need no such here." She
raised her voice slightly, addressing me in cold reserve.
"Your story sounds well. True or false, it makes small odds. We
attacked your party, believing you French, whom the children of the Sun
have good reason to hate. You have cost us the lives of many warriors,
and the Sun calls for vengeance. Already has the tribe solemnly voted
your death by fire. Now mark me closely. 'Tis not often I interfere
in such affairs as this, nor do I now for any higher object than my own
gratification. The Daughter of the Sun is no angel, nor ambitious to
become one. I have looked on unmoved at the torture of the stake more
than once, so 'tis no weak sentimentality that leads me to try to avert
your fate. Nor am I sure I can, whatever my motive be. I possess no
power to overturn the united vote of these warriors--they are all
children of the Sun. I can think of but one method by which I can even
hope to encompass your escape from immediate torture. If by some
subterfuge I can delay action until day-dawn, I may be able to control
these savages. The children of the Sun do not light their fires in the
presence of their Father. There is but one possible way to that
end,--does yonder red-headed man comprehend the Spanish tongue?"
"He does not."
"That is bad," her brows contracting. "Still he must be used, as no
other among you will answer my purpose. Bid him advance to my side on
the platform; bid him pretend to hold converse with me, and, above all
else, have him attend my every gesture and obey. Will he do your
bidding?"
"I know not," I replied honestly. "He is of a bull-headed breed, yet I
may be able to drive into him a moment of sense."
"Do your part thoroughly, nor be too long about it. The chiefs grow
restless at our talk, and may yet take affairs into their own hands."
I turned doubtfully toward the Puritan, who was glaring up at the woman
from beneath his shaggy brows, much as he might have looked upon some
wild animal seen for the first time. I presume the fiery red drapery
caused him to deem her that veritable scarlet woman about whom he
prated so much. He appeared far from being a promising subject for my
overtures, especially as his great head must have ached still from
contact with the club, which had alone beaten him into sullen silence.
Yet she commanding the attempt was so desperately in earnest that I
determined to do my part.
"Watch carefully my words," I said sternly in English, "and bear in
mind the preservation of all our lives depends on the part you play.
The woman chief has made choice of you to help in winning mercy from
these savages. I know not why you are the one thus chosen, yet I
suspect that fiery crop of hair may have something to do with the
honor. The main point is, are you in a humor to do her bidding?"
"Nay!" he replied, gazing at me stubbornly.
"You refuse to assist in saving your own life, and the lives of your
comrades?"
"I touch not the accursed abominations of this place," he answered,
hoarse with anger, "nor will I have aught to do with yonder shameless
creature."
"Sirrah!" I cried, thoroughly aroused by his mulishness, "do you
deliberately choose to sacrifice the life of this lady to your
bull-headed fanaticism? Do you refuse to unbend your miserable
Connecticut sectarianism, your Puritan cant, although by so doing you
might keep your comrades from the horrors of the stake? If this is
what you mean, I denounce you as unworthy to be called a man, and I
name your loud protestations of religion no more than a hissing and a
byword before the ungodly you profess to despise. You are no better
than a Pharisee, full of loud-mouthed prayers and vain conceit of
righteousness, a false prophet, haggling over formalism when the
slightest sacrifice of what you hold the letter of the law would result
in the salvation of human life. You call yourself a Christian, a
follower of that Nazarene who died for sinners on the cross, deeming
yourself better than those who cling to other creed. You sneer at that
rosary in Madame's fingers, yet do you suppose it possible she would
not endeavor to pluck your life from the jaws of death if it lay in her
power? Ay! and never waste speech about abominations in the path."
"The spirit is of greater value than the body," he persisted doggedly.
"Yea, 'tis better the flesh perish miserably in the flame than
surrender up the soul unto the devil."
"That is no issue here; you seek to deceive yourself by false words. I
denounce you openly as a false follower, for if I read rightly the
language of Holy Writ, it was He whom you so delight to term Master who
gave his life freely for His friends. But you--you are all words, a
charnel-house of dead men's bones."
Had he been free I might have rued my hasty words, for his eyes were
hot with anger, and he strained fiercely at his bonds in effort to
break free. Yet I felt safe enough beyond the sweep of his great arm,
rejoicing that my tongue was sharp enough to penetrate so thick a hide,
and make the man squirm beneath his outer vestment of piety.
"You speak falsely," he bellowed, nearly beside himself. "Satan puts
those foul words upon your lips tempting me to do evil."
"Nay; the words are true," I went on, determined to drive him by
taunts. "They are neither foul nor false, and right glad I am to
discover your real character even at this eleventh hour. I make no
loud boasting of my religion, dinning it into the ears of all I meet as
if I were the only righteous man on earth, but I do thank God from the
depths of my heart I have never yet basely deserted a friend in time of
trouble. I did consider you a good comrade, but I know now you are
nothing but a whited sepulchre, a miserable hypocrite, a Judas
betraying his master with a kiss. Pah! go your way, you are unclean;
nor ever hope again for word of fellowship from lips of honest men. I
shall die having performed my duty to the extent of my knowledge, but
you as a dog, a traitor to your comrades, the betrayer of a woman in
time of peril."
"'Tis false, I say; I would yield life gladly to aid her."
"Zounds! that sounds good from such lips. Why, you have just refused
much less."
"Yonder is an emissary of the Evil One."
"Keep your cowardly excuses to yourself. Whatever the woman may be,
she offers us a chance for our lives, provided only you will perform
her will in sundry matters."
He hesitated, his uncertain eyes shifting from her face to mine.
"What does this scarlet priestess of Baal require that I do?" he
questioned sullenly.
"Good lack, 'tis little enough even to satisfy your conscience. Merely
that you stand beside her on the platform, pretending converse, marking
carefully her every signal, and obeying it."
"I play no idolatrous mummery with her."
"Then may the devil fly away with you," I retorted, so enraged by this
time I could scarcely refrain from grappling him with my hands. "I go
to tell Madame of the fool you are."
He gave vent to a deep groan, rolling his eyes as was his habit in time
of trial, yet never removing his gaze from that red figure, standing
motionless as a statue, impatiently awaiting his decision.
"In the name of the holy prophets of Israel!" he snorted desperately at
last. "'T is, indeed, a grievous trial like unto that which befell
Daniel in the den of the lions. If I go upon yonder sinful platform
before these hosts of Satan, it will be only as led by the Almighty,
and that I may wrestle mightily in prayer for the redemption of the
heathen."
"I care not, man, so you go. Pray loud as you please, yet give heed to
the signals of the woman if you value your own life or ours."
Odds! it was a picture to see the fellow start on his unwelcome
mission, slouching through the ranks of the surprised savages with as
hangdog a look on his mournful countenance as though he mounted the
gallows. It was with faint hope as to the result that I watched him
lumber onto the platform, doubting not he would perform some crazy
trick to offset any good he might endeavor. I could scarce restrain a
smile as the two actors faced each other, marking the look of
undisguised horror on his leathern face, and how he shrank back as her
hand extended to touch him. The wild, discordant cries of the grouped
savages ceased in wonderment at this unanticipated scene; even the
perpetual incantations of the priests died away, every eye gazing
curiously on the strange spectacle. The Puritan had appropriated one
of De Noyan's hats, broad of brim, and so ample of crown the high
peaked head of the worthy sectary was almost lost within its capacious
interior. No sooner, however, did he attain her side than the woman
grasped it in her white fingers, flinging it disdainfully upon the
floor, and, like a flash of unexpected color in the dancing light of
the fire, there blazed forth before us his flaming covering with a
brilliancy which startled even me. Saint Andrew! it was a glow to make
the eyes blink.
The sudden effect of this disclosure upon the thronging warriors was
beyond words of mine. There followed a hush so painful in intensity I
could distinguish the quick throbbing of my own heart. I saw the woman
point at the fellow, giving eager utterance to a single word, her eyes
sweeping the faces below. Then came an irregular rush forward,
inarticulate cries pierced the air, war weapons were dashed clanging
upon the earthen floor, while numerous torches, grasped from off the
sacred altar, were waved aloft by excited hands, all serving to form as
demoniacal a scene as was ever witnessed this side of hell.
The full truth flashed across my mind--our comrade had in that moment
been changed from a helpless, beaten prisoner into an object of
superstitious worship. By the magic of a word, the alchemy of a
thought, he had become to these superstitious savages a mysterious
visitant from the Sun, and for once, at least, he might fervently bless
Nature, who had bestowed upon him so rich a coloring of hair. Whether
or not the fellow comprehended the meaning of that uproar, of those
wildly dancing figures in his front, I could never determine; but,
before the woman could in any way interfere, the sectary plumped down
upon his knees, and, with head bent so low that every separate hair
caught the reflection of the ruddy flames, began pouring forth a
petition in sturdy English, and with a volume of voice that shook the
whole interior. It was not such a bad play, I take it, although he was
desperately in earnest. Very plainly he compared his worshipping
auditory to certain scriptural characters, in a way that would not have
proven flattering to them could they have interpreted his language.
"Oh, Lord God!" he roared, rolling his eyes upward and interjecting
many a deep groan after each sentence. "Infinite Jehovah, for some
just reason of Thy own, Thou hast seen fit to lead Thy most humble
servant into this den of iniquity. Thou hast placed me in the fiery
furnace of tribulation, it may be in the test of that faith which was
delivered unto the saints, yet will I not bow down in the tents of the
idolaters, nor profane Thy Holy Name by the worship of their false
gods. Here in the midst of the ravening lions I uplift my eyes unto
Jerusalem, and my lips unto the throne of grace, beseeching Thee to
give unto me the salvation of these heathen, even as brands plucked
from the burning. Quench the fire on this altar of Baal, O Lord, by
the outpouring of Thy Spirit, and give unto this people a manifestation
of Thy mighty power, redeeming them from their manifold sins. Yea,
Lord, give ear unto the words of my petition, and as of old times thou
didst send a message of fire unto Thy prophet Elijah, so come down even
now to visit these unbelieving and mocking hearts with the terror of
Thy just wrath. Make bare Thy arm of infinite power that this
abomination of heathendom may be purged of its vain idolatry, and that
Thy Israel may triumph over the hosts of the sinful. Even as Thou
didst scatter the forces of the Egyptians in the waters of the Red Sea,
even so, O Lord, visit now Thy wrath upon those who mock Thee and
degrade Thy image. Save us from the snare of this scarlet woman, this
proud harlot of Babylon, and forgive Thy servant for thus seeming to
obey her will. Thou knowest, O Lord, that it is only that I may the
better serve Thee, and thus overcome the wiles of the Wicked One. Give
unto me in this hour the strength of Samson that I may overturn the
pillars of this temple of abominations, even though we all perish in
its destruction. Yea, visit us with power and righteousness, and
scatter Thy enemies over the face of the earth. O Lord! I am as
nothing, a mere worm of the dust: smite me if Thou wilt, yet I but
wrestle with Thee in prayer that through me the heathen may be brought
low, and led to see the error of their way."
There was no halting him, yet even as he continued to pour forth
fervent supplication, the warriors drew back from the dense circle
pressing against the platform, taking solemn counsel together. Then
the old war-chief advanced to the centre, pointing maliciously toward
De Noyan and myself. I observed the Queen wave her hand in a gesture
of apparent carelessness, and before I could clearly conjecture the
full meaning of it, strong hands clutched us, and, in spite of
struggles, we were dragged roughly back toward the shrouded entrance of
the lodge. There was no shouting, no din of any kind to disturb the
devotions of the Puritan, who prayed on with closed eyes and a vigor of
utterance making mock of all other sound. Silently as they moved, it
was nevertheless plain to be read in the grim, savage faces closing
about us, that we were being driven forth to no scene of pleasure.
Harshly did their gripping hands hustle us forward. The heavy mat
shading the entrance was flung aside, and like the unexpected flight of
an arrow, into the black gloom of the lodge, weirdly lighting up the
wild faces, streamed the clear, white light of the dawn. Far off upon
the highest summit of the yellow cliff there already rested the first
rosy reflection of the rising sun. One shout rang discordant from the
surprised throats of our captors; the brutal hands released their
grasp, and De Noyan and myself sank back helpless upon the ground.