than I can tell you at present. You see, there are some things that I
am sure of and some things that I am not quite so sure of, but that I
must find out somehow. For instance, I am quite sure that I love your
brother more than any man in the world. I am also quite sure that he is
the bravest, handsomest, strongest, best, and most unselfish man that
ever lived--much about the same as my father, except that, being
younger, he is handsomer, though I have no doubt my father was as
good-looking as he when he was as young. Then I am also quite sure that
Bladud is very fond of the boy Cormac, but--I am not at all sure that he
will love the girl Branwen when he sees her."
"But _I_ am sure of it--quite sure," said the princess, demonstrating
orally again.
At this there was a slight sound near the door of the apartment in which
this confidential talk was held, which induced Branwen to spring up and
fling it wide open, thus disclosing the lately humiliated servitor with
the blush of guilt upon his brow.
"Enter!" cried the princess, in an imperious tone, looking up at the
man, who was unusually tall and limp.
The servitor obeyed.
"Sit down," said the princess, with a view to get the tall man's head on
a level with her blue indignant eyes. "Have you heard much?"
"Not much," answered the man, with intense humility. "I heard only a
very little at the end, and that so imperfectly that I don't think I can
remember it--I really don't."
"Now, listen," said the princess, with a look that was intended to
scorch. "You know my father."
"Indeed I do,--have known him ever since I was a boy."
"Well, if you ever breathe a word of what you have seen or heard, or
what you think you have seen or heard to-day, to any one, I will set my
father at you, and that, as you know, will mean roasting alive over a
slow fire at the very least."
"And," said Branwen, advancing and shaking her forefinger within an inch
of the man's nose, "I will set _my_ father at you, which will mean slow
torture for hours. Moreover, I will set the Boong-jee-gop on your
track, and that will mean--no, I won't say what. It is too horrible
even to mention!"
"Now--go!" said the princess, pointing to the door.
The servitor went with an air of profound abasement, which changed into
a look of complicated amusement when he got out of sight.
"He is quite safe," said the princess, "not that I count much on his
fear, for he is as brave as a she-wolf with whelps, and fears nothing,
but I know he likes me."
"I think he likes me too," said Branwen, thoughtfully. "Besides, I feel
sure that the Boong-jee-gop has some influence over him. Yes, I think
we are safe."
"Well, now," she continued, resuming the interrupted conversation, "it
seems to me that the only course open to me is to appear to Bladud as a
girl some day, and see if he recognises me. Yet I don't quite like it,
for, now that it is all past and he is well again, I feel half ashamed
of the part I have played--yet how could I help it when I saw the poor
fellow going away to die--alone!"
"You could not help it, dear, and you should not wish it were otherwise.
Now, never mind what you feel about it, but let us lay our heads
together and consider what is to be done. You think, I suppose, that
Bladud may go on for a long time searching for this youth Cormac?"
"Yes, for a very long time, and he'll _never_ find him," replied Branwen
with a merry laugh.
"Well, then, we must find some means of getting him home without letting
him know why we want him," continued the princess.
"Just so, but that won't be easy," returned the other with a significant
look, "for he is _very_ fond of Cormac, and won't easily be made to give
up looking for him."
"You conceited creature, you are too sure of him."
"Not at all. Only as Cormac. I wish I were sure of him as Branwen!"
"Perchance he might like you best as the little old woman in grey."
"It may be so. I think he liked me even as a witch, for he patted my
shoulder once so kindly."
"I'll tell you what--I'll go and consult father," said the princess.
"No, you shan't, my dear, for he is not to know anything about it just
yet. But I will go and consult _my_ father. He will give me good
advice, I know."
The result of Branwen's consultation with her father was that the Hebrew
was summoned to his presence. An explanation took place, during which
Gadarn attempted to look grave, and dignified, as became a noted
northern chief, but frequently turned very red in the face and vented
certain nasal sounds, which betrayed internal commotion.
"You will therefore start for the Hot Swamp to-morrow, Beniah," he
finally remarked, "and let Bladud know that the king desires his return
to court immediately. I have been told by the king to send him this
message. But keep your own counsel, Hebrew, and be careful not to let
the prince know what _you_ know, else it will go ill with you! Tell
him, from myself, that I have at last fallen on the tracks of the lad
Cormac, and that we are almost sure to find him in this neighbourhood.
Away, and let not thy feet take root on the road."
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
BRANWEN VISITS GUNRIG.
Before going off on his mission the Hebrew paid a visit to his own
residence, where he found Branwen busy with culinary operations.
Sitting down on a stool, he looked at her with an expression of mingled
amusement and perplexity.
"Come hither, my girl," he said, "and sit beside me while I reveal the
straits to which you have brought me. Verily, a short time ago I had
deemed it impossible for any one to thrust me so near to the verge of
falsehood as you have done!"
"I, Beniah?" exclaimed the maiden, with a look of surprise on her pretty
face so ineffably innocent that it was obviously hypocritical--insomuch
that Beniah laughed, and Branwen was constrained to join him.
"Yes--you and your father together, for the puzzling man has
commissioned me to set out for the Hot Swamp, to tell Bladud that he is
urgently wanted at home. And he would not even allow me to open my
lips, when I was about to broach the subject of your disguises, although
he almost certainly knows all about them--"
"What! my father knows?" interrupted Branwen, with raised eyebrows.
"Yes, and you know that he knows, and he knows that I know, and we all
know that each other knows, and why there should be any objection that
every one should know is more than I can--"
"Never mind, Beniah," interrupted the girl, with the slightest possible
smile. "You are a dear, good old creature, and I know you won't betray
me. Remember your solemn promise."
"Truly I shall not forget it soon," replied the Hebrew, "for the trouble
it has cost me already to compose answers that should not be lies is
beyond your light-hearted nature to understand."
"Ah! yes, indeed," rejoined Branwen, with a sigh of mock humility, "I
was always very lighthearted by nature. The queen used frequently to
tell me so--though she never said it was by `nature,' and the king
agreed with her--though by the way he used to laugh, I don't think he
thought light-heartedness to be _very_ naughty. But come, Beniah, I am
longing to hear what my father commissioned you to say or do."
"Well, he was very particular in cautioning me _not_ to tell what I
know--"
"Ah! that knowledge, what a dreadful thing it is to have too much of it!
Well, what more?"
"He told me what I have already told you, and bid me add from himself
that he has fallen on the tracks of the lad Cormac, and that he is sure
to be found in this neighbourhood."
"That, at least, will be no lie," suggested the maid.
"I'm not so sure of that, for the lad Cormac will never be found here or
anywhere else, having no existence at all."
Branwen laughed at this and expressed surprise. "It seems to me," she
said, "that age or recent worries must have touched your brain, Beniah,
for if the lad Cormac has no existence at all, how is it possible that
you could meet with him at the Hot Swamp, and even make a solemn promise
to him."
Beniah did not reply to this question, but rose to make preparation for
his journey. Then, as if suddenly recollecting something that had
escaped him, he returned to his seat.
"My child," he said, "I have that to tell you which will make you sad--
unless I greatly misunderstand your nature. Gunrig, your enemy, is
dying."
That the Hebrew had not misunderstood Branwen's nature was evident, from
the genuine look of sorrow and sympathy which instantly overspread her
countenance.
"Call him not my enemy!" she exclaimed. "An enemy cannot love! But,
tell me about him. I had heard the report that he was recovering."
"It was the report of a sanguine mother who will not believe that his
end is so near; but she is mistaken. I saw him two days ago. The
arrow-head is still rankling in his chest, and he knows himself to be
dying."
"Is he much changed in appearance?" asked Branwen.
"Indeed he is. His great strength is gone, and he submits to be treated
as a child--yet he is by no means childish. The manliness of his strong
nature is left, but the boastfulness has departed, and he looks death in
the face like a true warrior; though I cannot help thinking that if
choice had been given him he would have preferred to fall by the sword
of Bladud, or some doughty foe who could have given him a more summary
dismissal from this earthly scene."
"Beniah, I will visit him," said Branwen, suddenly brushing back her
hair with both hands, and looking earnestly into the Hebrew's face.
"That will be hard for you to do and still keep yourself concealed."
"Nothing will be easier," replied the girl, with some impatience; "you
forget the old woman's dress. I will accompany you as far as his
dwelling. It is only an easy day's journey on foot from here."
"But, my child, I go on horseback; and I am to be supplied with only one
horse."
"Well, my father, that is no difficulty; for I will ride and you shall
walk. You will bring the horse here instead of starting straight from
the palace. Then we will set off together, and I will gallop on in
advance. When you reach Gunrig's house in the evening, you will find
the horse fed and rested, and ready for you to go on."
"But how will you return, child?"
"By using my legs, man! As an old witch I can travel anywhere at night
in perfect safety."
According to this arrangement--to which the Hebrew was fain to agree--
the pair started off a little after daybreak the following morning.
Branwen galloped, as she had said, in advance, leaving her protector to
make his slower way through the forest.
The sun was high when the domestics of Gunrig's establishment were
thrown into a state of great surprise and no little alarm at sight of a
little old woman in grey bestriding a goodly horse and galloping towards
the house. Dashing into the courtyard at full speed, and scattering the
onlookers right and left, she pulled up with some difficulty, just in
time to prevent the steed going through the parchment window of the
kitchen.
"Help me down!" she cried, looking full in the face of a lumpish lad,
who stood gazing at her with open eyes and mouth. "Don't you see I am
old and my joints are stiff? Be quick!"
There was a commanding tone in her shrill voice that brooked no delay.
The lumpish lad shut his mouth, reduced his eyes, and, going shyly
forward, held out his hand. The old woman seized it, and, almost before
he had time to wink, stood beside him.
"Where is Gunrig's room?" she demanded.
All the observers pointed to a door at the end of a passage.
"Take good care of my horse! Rub him well down; feed him. _I_ shall
know if you don't!" she cried, as she entered the passage and knocked
gently at the door.
It was opened by Gunrig's mother, whose swollen eyes and subdued voice
told their own tale.
"May I come in and see him, mother?" said Branwen, in her own soft
voice.
"You are a strange visitor," said the poor woman, in some surprise. "Do
you want much to see him? He is but a poor sight now."
"Yes--O yes!--I want very much to see him."
"Your voice is kindly, old woman. You may come in."
The sight that Branwen saw on entering was, indeed, one fitted to arouse
the most sorrowful emotions of the heart; for there, on a rude couch of
branches, lay the mere shadow of the once stalwart chief, the great
bones of his shoulders showing their form through the garments which he
had declined to take off; while his sunken cheeks, large glittering
eyes, and labouring breath, told all too plainly that disease had almost
completed the ruin of the body, and that death was standing by to
liberate the soul.
"Who comes to disturb me at such a time, mother?" said the dying man,
with a distressed look.
Branwen did not give her time to answer, but, hurrying forward, knelt
beside the couch and whispered in his ear. As she did so there was a
sudden rush of blood to the wan cheeks, and something like a blaze of
the wonted fire in the sunken eyes.
"Mother," he said, with something of his old strength of voice, "leave
us for a short while. This woman has somewhat to tell me."
"May I not stay to hear it, my son?"
"No. You shall hear all in a very short time. Just now--leave us!"
"Now, Branwen," said the chief, taking her hand in his, "what blessed
chance has sent you here?"
The poor girl did not speak, for when she looked at the great, thin,
transparent hand which held hers, and thought of the day when it swayed
the heavy sword so deftly, she could not control herself, and burst into
tears.
"Oh! poor, poor Gunrig! I'm so sorry to see you like this!--so very,
very sorry!"
She could say no more, but covered her face with both hands and wept.
"Nay, take not your hand from me," said the dying man, again grasping
the hand which she had withdrawn; "its soft grip sends a rush of joy to
my sinking soul."
"Say not that you are sinking, Gunrig," returned the girl in pitying
tones; "for it is in the power of the All-seeing One to restore you to
health if it be His will."
"If He is All-seeing, then there is no chance of His restoring me to
health; for He has seen that I have lived a wicked life. Ah! Branwen,
you do not know what I have been. If there is a place of rewards and
punishment, as some tell us there is, assuredly my place will be that of
punishment, for my life has been one of wrong-doing. And there is
something within me that I have felt before, but never so strong as now,
which tells me that there _is_ such a place, and that I am condemned to
it."
"But I have heard from the Hebrew--who reads strange things marked on a
roll of white cloth--that the All-seeing One's nature is _love_, and
that He has resolved Himself to come and save men from wrong-doing."
"That would be good news indeed, Branwen, if it were true."
"The Hebrew says it is true. He says he believes it, and the All-seeing
One is a Redeemer who will save all men from wrong-doing."
"Would that I could find Him, Branwen, for that is what I wish. I know
not whether there shall be a hereafter or not, but if there is I shall
hope for deliverance from wrong-doing. A place of punishment I care not
much about, for I never shrank from pain or feared death. What I do
fear is a hereafter, in which I shall live over again the old bad life--
and I am glad it is drawing to a close with your sweet voice sounding in
my ears. I believe it was that voice which first shot into my heart the
desire to do right, and the hatred of wrong."
"I am glad to hear that, Gunrig, though it never entered into my head, I
confess, to do you such a good turn. And surely it must have been the
All-seeing One who enabled me to influence you thus, and who now recalls
to my mind what the Hebrew read to me--one of those sayings of the good
men of his nation which are marked in the white roll I spoke of. It is
this--`God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.'"
"That is a good word, if it be a true one," returned the chief, "and I
hope it is. Now, my end is not far off. I am so glad and thankful that
you have forgiven me before the end. Another thing that comforts me is
that Bladud and I have been reconciled."
"Bladud!" exclaimed the girl.
"Ay, the prince with whom I fought at the games, you remember."
"Remember! ay, right well do I remember. It was a notable fight."
"It was," returned the chief, with a faint smile, "and from that day I
hated him and resolved to kill him, till I met him at the Hot Swamp,
where I got this fatal wound. He nursed me there, and did his best to
save my life, but it was not to be. Yet I think that his tenderness, as
well as your sweet voice, had something to do with turning my angry
spirit round. I would see my mother now. The world is darkening, and
the time is getting short."
The deathly pallor of the man's cheeks bore witness to the truth of his
words. Yet he had strength to call his mother into the room.
On entering and beholding a beautiful girl kneeling, and in tears, where
she had left a feeble old woman, she almost fell down with superstitious
fear, deeming that an angel had been sent to comfort her son--and so
indeed one had been sent, in a sense, though not such an one as
superstition suggested.
A few minutes' talk with Gunrig, however, cleared up the mystery. But
the unwonted excitement and exertion had caused the sands of life to run
more rapidly than might otherwise have been the case. The chief's voice
became suddenly much more feeble, and frequently he gasped for breath.
"Mother," he said, "Branwen wants to get home without any one knowing
that she has been here. You will send our stoutest man with her
to-night, to guard her through the woods as far as the Hebrew's cave.
Let him not talk to her by the way, and bid him do whatever she
commands."
"Yes, my dear, dear son, what else can I do to comfort you?"
"Come and sit beside me, mother, and let me lay my head on your knee.
You were the first to comfort me in this life, and I want you to be the
last. Speak with Branwen, mother, after I am gone. She will comfort
you as no one else can. Give me your hand, mother; I would sleep now as
in the days gone by."
The bronzed warrior laid his shaggy head on the lap where he had been so
often fondled when he was a little child, and gently fell into that
slumber from which he never more awoke.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
THE HEBREW'S MISSION.
We turn now to Beniah the Hebrew. On arriving at the Hot Swamp he was
amazed to find the change that had been made in the appearance of the
locality in so short a time.
"United action, you see," said Captain Arkal, who did the honours of the
new settlement in the absence of Bladud and his friends, these being
still absent on their vain search for the lad Cormac, "united action,
perseveringly continued, leads to amazing results."
He repeated this to himself, in a low tone, as if he were rather proud
of having hit on a neat way of expressing a great truth which he
believed was an original discovery of his own. "Yes," he continued, "I
have got my men, you see, into splendid working order. They act from
morning to night in concert--one consequence of which is that all is
Harmony, and there is but one man at the helm, the consequence of which
is, that all is Power. Harmony and Power! I have no faith, Beniah, in
a divided command. My men work together and feed together and play
together and sleep together, united in the one object of carrying out
the grand designs of Prince Bladud, while I, as the superintendent of
the work, see to it that the work is properly done. Nothing could be
more simple or satisfactory."
"Or more amazing," added Beniah, as they walked by the margin of a hot
rivulet. "I could scarcely have known the Swamp had I not recognised
its beautiful surroundings."
"Just so; it is all, as I have said, the result of union, which I hold
to be the very foundation of human power, for united action is strong,"
said the captain, with enthusiasm, as he originated the idea which,
years afterwards, became the familiar proverb, "Union is Strength."
"Most true, O mariner," returned Beniah, "your wisdom reminds me of one
of our kings who wrote many of our wisest sayings."
"Ah, wise sayings have their value, undoubtedly," returned Arkal, "but
commend me to wise doings. Look here, now, at the clever way in which
Bladud has utilised this bush-covered knoll. It is made to divide this
rivulet in two, so that one branch, as you see, fills this pond, which
is intended for the male population of the place, while the other branch
fills another pond--not in sight at present--intended for the women.
Then, you see that large pond away to the left, a considerable distance
from the fountain-head--that is supplied by a very small stream of the
hot water, so that it soon becomes quite cold, and branch rivulets from
the cold pond to the hot ponds cool them down till they are bearable.
It took six days to fill up the cold pond."
"We have not yet got the booths made for the women to dress in,"
continued the captain, "for we have no women yet in our settlement; but
you see what convenient ones we have set up for the men."
"But surely," said the Hebrew, looking round with interest, "you have
far more hot water than you require."
"Yes, much more."
"What, then, do you do with the surplus?"
"We just let it run into the swamp at present, as it has always done,
but we are digging a big drain to carry it off into the river. Then,
when the swamp is dry, we will plant eatable things in it, and perhaps
set up more booths and huts and dig more baths. Thus, in course of
time--who knows?--we may have a big town here, and King Hudibras himself
may condescend to lave his royal limbs in our waters."
"That may well be," returned the Hebrew thoughtfully. "The Hot Spring
is a good gift from the All-seeing One, and if it cures others as it has
cured Prince Bladud, I should not wonder to see the people of the whole
land streaming to the place before long. But have you given up all
thought of returning to your native land, Arkal? Do you mean to settle
here?"
"Nay, verily--that be far from me! Have I not a fair wife in Hellas,
who is as the light of mine eyes; and a little son who is as the plague
of my life? No, I shall return home once more to fetch my wife and
child here--then I shall have done with salt water for ever, and devote
myself to hot water in time to come."
"A wise resolve, no doubt," said Beniah, "and in keeping with all your
other doings."
"See," interrupted Arkal, "there is the river and the women's bath, and
the big drain that I spoke of."
He pointed to a wide ditch extending from the swamp towards the river.
It had been cut to within a few yards of the latter, and all the men of
the place were busily engaged with primitive picks, spades, and shovels,
in that harmonious unity of action of which the captain had expressed
such a high opinion.
A few more yards of cutting, and the ditch, or drain, would be
completed, when the waters of the swamp would be turned into it. Those
waters had been banked up at the head of the drain and formed a lake of
considerable size, which, when the neck of land separating it from the
drain should be cut, would rush down the artificial channel and
disappear in the river.
Engineering in those days, however, had not been studied--at least in
Albion--to the extent which now prevails in England. The neck of land
was not equal to the pressure brought to bear on it, and while the
captain and his friend were looking at it, there appeared symptoms which
caused the former some anxiety.
At that moment Konar the hunter came up. Although attached to the
settlement as hunter, he had agreed to take his turn with the diggers,
for the water accumulated in the lake so fast that the work had to be
done rapidly, and every available man at the place was pressed into the
service. The overseer himself, even, lent a hand occasionally.
"I don't like the look of the lower part of that neck," he remarked to
the hunter.
Konar was a man of few words. By way of reply he laid aside his bow and
descended the bank to examine the weak point. He was still engaged in
the investigation and bending over a moist spot, when the entire mass of
earth gave way and the waters burst into the drain with a gush and a
roar quite indescribable. Konar was swept away instantly as if he had
been a feather. Arkal and Beniah sprang down the bank to his
assistance, and were themselves nearly swept into the flood which had
swallowed up the hunter, but Konar was not quite gone. Another moment
and his legs appeared above the flood, then his head turned up, and then
the raging waters tossed him as if contemptuously on a projecting spit
of bank, where he lay half in and half out of the torrent.
In a moment both Arkal and the Hebrew were at the spot, seized the
hunter by an arm, the neck of his coat, and the hair of his head, and
drew him out of danger; but no sign of life did the poor man exhibit as
he lay there on the grass.