As soon as the sun was up the guards came to lead the young prisoners to
the Labyrinth. They did not see the sword which Theseus had under his
cloak, nor the tiny ball of silk which he held in his closed hand. They
led the youths and maidens a long way into the Labyrinth, turning here
and there, back and forth, a thousand different times, until it seemed
certain that they could never find their way out again. Then the guards,
by a secret passage which they alone knew, went out and left them, as
they had left many others before, to wander about until they should be
found by the terrible Minotaur.
"Stay close by me," said Theseus to his companions, "and with the help
of Athena who dwells in her temple home in our own fair city, I will
save you."
Then he drew his sword and stood in the narrow way before them; and they
all lifted up their hands and prayed to Athena.
For hours they stood there, hearing no sound, and seeing nothing but the
smooth, high walls on either side of the passage and the calm blue sky
so high above them. Then the maidens sat down upon the ground and
covered their faces and sobbed, and said:
"Oh, that he would come and put an end to our misery and our lives."
At last, late in the day, they heard a bellowing, low and faint as
though far away. They listened and soon heard it again, a little louder
and very fierce and dreadful.
"It is he! it is he!" cried Theseus; "and now for the fight!"
Then he shouted, so loudly that the walls of the Labyrinth answered
back, and the sound was carried upward to the sky and outward to the
rocks and cliffs of the mountains. The Minotaur heard him, and his
bellowings grew louder and fiercer every moment.
"He is coming!" cried Theseus, and he ran forward to meet the beast. The
seven maidens shrieked, but tried to stand up bravely and face their
fate; and the six young men stood together with firm-set teeth and
clinched fists, ready to fight to the last.
Soon the Minotaur came into view, rushing down the passage towards
Theseus, and roaring most terribly. He was twice as tall as a man, and
his head was like that of a bull with huge sharp horns and fiery eyes
and a mouth as large as a lion's; but the young men could not see the
lower part of his body for the cloud of dust which he raised in running.
When he saw Theseus with the sword in his hand coming to meet him, he
paused, for no one had ever faced him in that way before. Then he put
his head down, and rushed forward, bellowing. But Theseus leaped quickly
aside, and made a sharp thrust with his sword as he passed, and hewed
off one of the monster's legs above the knee.
The Minotaur fell upon the ground, roaring and groaning and beating
wildly about with his horned head and his hoof-like fists; but Theseus
nimbly ran up to him and thrust the sword into his heart, and was away
again before the beast could harm him. A great stream of blood gushed
from the wound, and soon the Minotaur turned his face towards the sky
and was dead.
Then the youths and maidens ran to Theseus and kissed his hands and
feet, and thanked him for his great deed; and, as it was already growing
dark, Theseus bade them follow him while he wound up the silken thread
which was to lead them out of the Labyrinth. Through a thousand rooms
and courts and winding ways they went, and at midnight they came to the
outer door and saw the city lying in the moonlight before them; and,
only a little way off, was the seashore where the black ship was moored
which had brought them to Crete. The door was wide open, and beside it
stood Ariadne waiting for them.
"The wind is fair, the sea is smooth, and the sailors are ready," she
whispered; and she took the arm of Theseus, and all went together
through the silent streets to the ship.
When the morning dawned they were far out to sea, and, looking back from
the deck of the little vessel, only the white tops of the Cretan
mountains were in sight.
Minos, when he arose from sleep, did not know that the youths and
maidens had gotten safe out of the Labyrinth. But when Ariadne could not
be found, he thought that robbers had carried her away. He sent soldiers
out to search for her among the hills and mountains, never dreaming that
she was now well on the way towards distant Athens.
Many days passed, and at last the searchers returned and said that the
princess could nowhere be found. Then the king covered his head and
wept, and said:
"Now, indeed, I am bereft of all my treasures!"
In the meanwhile, King AEgeus of Athens had sat day after day on a rock
by the shore, looking and watching if by chance he might see a ship
coming from the south. At last the vessel with Theseus and his
companions hove in sight, but it still carried only the black sail, for
in their joy the young men had forgotten to raise the white one.
"Alas! alas! my son has perished!" moaned AEgeus; and he fainted and fell
forward into the sea and was drowned. And that sea, from then until now,
has been called by his name, the Aegean Sea.
Thus Theseus became king of Athens.
[Illustration]