As the waters of Chinnereth closed over the head of Lady Barbara, the
golden-haired Jezebel sprang to her feet and ran swiftly forward among
the men congregated upon the great flat lava rock from which the victim
of their cruel fanaticism had been hurled to her doom. She pushed
apostles roughly aside as she made her way toward the brink, tears
streaming from her eyes and sobs choking her throat.
Abraham, the son of Abraham, standing directly in her path, was the
first to guess her purpose to throw herself into the lake and share
the fate of her loved mistress. Impelled by no humanitarian urge, but
rather by a selfish determination to save the girl for another fate
which he already had chosen for her, the Prophet seized her as she was
about to leap into the water.
Turning upon the old man like a tigress, Jezebel scratched, bit, and
kicked in an effort to free herself, which she would have succeeded in
doing had not the Prophet called the six executioners to his aid. Two
of them seized her; and, seeing that her efforts were futile, the girl
desisted; but now she turned the flood gates of her wrath upon Abraham,
the son of Abraham.
"Murderer!" she cried. "Son of Satan! May Jehovah strike thee dead for
this. Curses be upon thy head and upon those of all thy kin. Damned be
they and thee for the foul crime thou hast committed here this day."
"Silence, blasphemer!" screamed Abraham, the son of Abraham. "Make thy
peace with Jehovah, for tonight thou shalt be judged by fire. Take her
back to the village," he directed the two who held her, "and make her
secure in a cave. Seest thou, too, that she escapeth not."
"Fire or water, it be all the same to me," cried the girl as they
dragged her away, "just so it takes me away forever from this accursed
land of Midian and the mad beast who poseth as the prophet of Jehovah."
As Jezebel moved off toward the village between her two guards the
villagers fell in behind them, the women calling her foul names and
otherwise reviling her, and in the rear of all came the Prophet and the
Apostles, leaving a score of their fellows still lying upon the ground,
where they writhed, unnoticed, in the throes of epilepsy.
The impact with the surface of the water had almost stunned Lady
Barbara, but she had managed to retain her senses and control of her
mental and physical powers, so that, although dazed, she was able to
put into effect the plan that she had nursed from the moment that she
was aware of the fate to which the Prophet had condemned her.
Being an excellent swimmer and diver the thought of being immersed
below the surface of Chinnereth for a few minutes had not, in itself,
caused her any great mental perturbation. Her one fear had lain in the
very considerable possibility that she might be so badly injured by the
impact with the water, or stunned, as to be helpless to effect her
own release from the net. Her relief was great, therefore, when she
discovered that she was far from helpless, nor did she delay an instant
in bringing her small pocket knife to play upon the fibre strands of
the net that enmeshed her.
Slashing rapidly, but yet, at the same time, in accordance with a
practical plan, she severed strand after strand in a straight line, as
the rock dragged her downward toward the bottom. Constantly through her
mind ran a single admonition--"Keep cool! Keep cool!" Should she permit
herself to give way to hysteria, even for an instant, she knew that
she must be lost. The lake seemed bottomless, the strands innumerable,
while the knife grew constantly duller, and her strength appeared to be
rapidly ebbing.
"Keep cool! Keep cool!" Her lungs were bursting. "Just a moment more!
Keep cool!" She felt unconsciousness creeping upon her. She struggled
to drag herself through the opening she had made in the net--her senses
reeled dizzily--she was almost unconscious as she shot rapidly toward
the surface.
As her head rose above the surface those standing upon the rock above
her had their attention riveted upon Jezebel who was engaged at that
moment in kicking the prophet of Paul, the son of Jehovah, on the
shins. Lady Barbara was ignorant of all this; but it was fortunate for
her, perhaps, because it prevented any of the Midians from noticing
her resurrection from the deep and permitted her to swim, unseen,
beneath the shelter of the overhanging rock from which she had been
precipitated into the lake.
She was very weak, and it was with a prayer of thanksgiving that she
discovered a narrow ledge of beach at the water's edge beneath the
great lava block that loomed above her. As she dragged herself wearily
out upon it she heard the voices of those upon the rock overhead--the
voice of Jezebel cursing the Prophet and the old man's threat against
the girl.
A thrill of pride in the courage of Jezebel warmed the heart of Lady
Barbara, as did the knowledge that she had won a friend so loyal and
devoted that she would put her own life in jeopardy merely for the sake
of openly accusing the murderer of her friend. How magnificent she was
in the primitive savagery of her denunciation! Lady Barbara could
almost see her standing there defying the greatest power that her world
knew, her golden hair framing her oval face, her eyes flashing, her
lips curling in scorn, her lithe young body tense with emotion.
And what she had heard, and the thought of the helplessness of the
young girl against the power of the vile old man, changed Lady
Barbara's plans completely. She had thought to remain in hiding until
night and then seek to escape this hideous valley and its mad denizens.
There would be no pursuit, for they would think her dead at the bottom
of Chinnereth; and thus she might seek to find her way to the outer
world with no danger of interference by the people of the land of
Midian.
She and Jezebel had often speculated upon the likelihood of the
existence of a possible avenue of ascent of the crater wall; and from
the entrance of their cave they had chosen a spot about midway of
the western face of the crater, where the rim had fallen inward, as
offering the best chance of escape. Tumbled masses of rock rose here
from the bottom of the valley almost to the summit of the crater, and
here Lady Barbara had decided to make her first bid for freedom.
But now all was changed. She could not desert Jezebel, whose life was
now definitely jeopardized because of her friendship and loyalty. But
what was she to do? How could she be of assistance to the girl? She did
not know. Of only one thing was she certain--she must try.
She had witnessed enough horrors in the village of the South Midians
to know that whatever Abraham, the son of Abraham, planned for Jezebel
would doubtless be consummated after dark, the time he chose, by
preference, for all the more horrible of his so-called religious rites.
Only those which took them to a distance from the village, such as
immersions in the waters of Chinnereth, were performed by daylight.
With these facts in mind, Lady Barbara decided that she might, with
safety, wait until after dark before approaching the village. To do so
earlier might only result in her own recapture, an event that would
render her helpless in effecting the succor of Jezebel, while giving
the Prophet two victims instead of one.
The sound of voices above her had ceased. She had heard the
vituperations of the women diminishing in the distance, and by this
she had known that the party had returned to the village. It was cold
beneath the shadow of the rock, with her wet clothing clinging to her
tired body; and so she slipped back into the water and swam along the
shore a few yards until she found a spot where she could crawl out and
lie in the pleasant warmth of the sun.
Here she rested again for a few minutes, and then she cautiously
ascended the bank until her eyes were on a level with the ground. At
a little distance she saw a woman, lying prone, who was trying to
raise herself to a sitting position. She was evidently weak and dazed,
and Lady Barbara realized that she was recovering from one of those
horrid seizures to which nearly all the inhabitants of the village were
subject. Near her were others, some lying quietly, some struggling;
and in the direction of the village she saw several who had recovered
sufficiently to attempt the homeward journey.
Lying very still, her forehead concealed behind a low shrub, Lady
Barbara watched and waited for half an hour, until the last of
the unfortunate band had regained consciousness and self control
sufficiently to permit them to depart in the direction of their squalid
habitations.
She was alone now with little or no likelihood of discovery. Her
clothes were still wet and exceedingly uncomfortable; so she quickly
removed them and spread them in the hot sun to dry, while she
luxuriated in the soothing comfort of the sun bath, alternated with an
occasional dip in the waters of the lake.
Before the sun dropped to the western rim of the crater her clothing
had dried; and now she sat, fully dressed again, waiting for darkness
to fall. Below her lay the waters of the lake and beyond its farther
shore she could dimly see the outlines of the village of the North
Midians, where dwelt the mysterious "beautiful men" of Jezebel's day
dreams.
Doubtless, thought Lady Barbara, the prince charming of the golden
one's imagination would prove to be a whiskered Adonis with a knotted
club; but, even so, it were difficult to imagine more degraded or
repulsive males than those of her own village. Almost anything--even a
gorilla--might seem preferable to them.
As night approached, the girl saw little lights commence to twinkle in
the northern village--the cooking fires, doubtless--and then she rose
and turned her face toward the village of Abraham, the son of Abraham,
of Jobab and Timothy and Jezebel, toward certain danger and possible
death.
As she walked along the now familiar path toward the village, the mind
of Lady Barbara Collis was vexed by the seemingly hopeless problem that
confronted her, while hovering upon the verge of her consciousness
was that fear of the loneliness and the darkness of an unfamiliar and
inhospitable country that is inherent in most of us. Jezebel had told
her that dangerous beasts were almost unknown in the land of Midian,
yet her imagination conjured slinking forms in the darkness and the
sound of padded feet upon the trail behind her and the breathing
of savage lungs. Yet ahead of her lay a real menace more terrible,
perhaps, than swiftly striking talons and powerful jaws.
She recalled that she had heard that men who had been mauled by lions,
and lived to narrate their experiences, had all testified uniformly
to the fact that there had been no pain and little terror during the
swift moments of the experience; and she knew that there was a theory
propounded by certain students of animal life that the killing of the
carnivores was always swift, painless, and merciful. Why was it, she
wondered, that of all created things only man was wantonly cruel and
only man, and the beasts that were trained by man, killed for pleasure?
But now she was nearing the village and passing from the possibility
of attack by merciful beasts to the assurance of attack by merciless
men, should she be apprehended by them. To reduce this risk she skirted
the village at a little distance and came to the foot of the cliff
where the caves were located and where she hoped to find Jezebel and,
perhaps, discover a means of liberating her.
She glanced up the face of the cliff, which seemed to be deserted,
most of the villagers being congregated about a group of small cooking
fires near the few huts at the foot of the cliff. They often cooked
thus together gossiping and praying and narrating experiences and
revelations--they all received revelations from Jehovah when they
"walked" with Him, which was their explanation of their epileptic
seizures.
The more imaginative members of the community were the recipients of
the most remarkable revelations; but, as all of them were stupid,
Jehovah had not, at least during Lady Barbara's sojourn among them,
revealed anything of a particularly remarkable or inspiring nature.
Their gossip, like their "experiences," was mean and narrow and sordid.
Each sought constantly to discover or invent some scandal or heresy in
the lives of his fellows, and if the finger pointed at one not in the
good graces of the Prophet or the Apostles the victim was quite likely
to make a Roman holiday.
Seeing the villagers congregated about their fires, Lady Barbara
commenced the ascent of the steep path that zig-zagged up the face of
the cliff. She moved slowly and cautiously, stopping often to look
about her, both above and below; but, notwithstanding her fears and
doubts she finally reached the mouth of the cave that she and Jezebel
had occupied. If she hoped to find the golden one there she was
disappointed; but at least, if Jezebel were not there, it was a relief
to find that no one else was; and with a sense of greater security than
she had felt since the dawn of this eventful day she crawled into the
interior and threw herself down upon the straw pallet that the girls
had shared.
Home! This rough lair, no better than that which housed the beasts of
the wilds, was home now to Lady Barbara Collis whose life had been
spent within the marble halls of the Earl of Whimsey. Permeating
it were memories of the strange friendship and affection that had
gradually united these two girls whose origins and backgrounds could
scarcely have been more dissimilar. Here each had learned the language
of the other, here they had laughed and sung together, here they had
exchanged confidences, and here they had planned together a future in
which they would not be separated. The cold walls seemed warmer because
of the love and loyalty to which they had been silent witnesses.
But now Lady Barbara was here alone. Where was Jezebel? It was the
answer to that question that the English girl must find. She recalled
the Prophet's threat--"for tonight thou shalt be judged by fire." She
must hasten, then, if she were to save Jezebel. But how was she to
accomplish it in the face of all the seemingly insurmountable obstacles
which confronted her?--her ignorance of where Jezebel was being held,
the numbers of her enemies, her lack of knowledge of the country
through which they would be forced to flee should she be so fortunate
as to effect the girl's escape from the village.
She roused herself. Lying here upon her pallet would accomplish
nothing. She rose and looked down toward the village; and instantly
she was all alertness again, for there was Jezebel. She was standing
between two guards, surrounded by many villagers who maintained an open
space about her. Presently the spectators separated and men appeared
carrying a burden. What was it? They laid it in the center of the open
space, in front of Jezebel; and then Lady Barbara saw what it was--a
large wooden cross.
A man was digging a hole at the center of the circular space that had
been left around the prisoner; others were bringing brush and fagots.
Now the men who guarded Jezebel seized her and bore her to the ground.
They laid her upon the cross and stretched her arms out upon the wooden
cross arm.
Lady Barbara was horror stricken. Were they going to perpetrate the
horrible atrocity of nailing her to the cross? Abraham, the son of
Abraham, stood at the head of the cross, his hands in the attitude of
prayer, a personification of pious hypocrisy. The girl knew that no
cruelty, however atrocious, was beyond him. She knew, too, that she was
powerless to prevent the consummation of this foul deed, yet she cast
discretion and self interest to the winds, as, with a warning cry that
shattered the silence of the night, she sped swiftly down the steep
pathway toward the village--a self-sacrifice offered willingly upon the
altar of friendship.
Startled by her scream, every eye was turned upward toward her. In
the darkness they did not recognize her, but their stupid minds were
filled with questioning and with terror as they saw something speeding
down the cliff face toward them. Even before she reached the circle of
firelight where they stood many had collapsed in paroxysms of epilepsy
induced by the nervous shock of this unexpected visitation.
When she came closer, and was recognized, others succumbed, for now
indeed it appeared that a miracle had been worked and that the dead had
been raised again, even as they had seen the dead girl resurrected the
previous day.
Pushing aside those who did not quickly enough make way for her, Lady
Barbara hastened to the center of the circle. As his eyes fell upon
her, Abraham, the son of Abraham, paled and stepped back. For a moment
he seemed upon the verge of a stroke.
"Who are you?" he cried. "What are you doing here?"
"You know who I am," replied Lady Barbara. "Why do you tremble if you
do not know that I am the messenger of Jehovah whom you reviled and
sought to destroy? I am here to save the girl Jezebel from death. Later
Jehovah will send His wrath upon Abraham, the son of Abraham, and upon
all the people of the land of Midian for their cruelties and their
sins."
"I did not know," cried the Prophet. "Tell Jehovah that I did not know.
Intercede for me, that Jehovah may forgive me; and anything within my
power to grant shall be yours."
So great was her surprise at the turn events had taken that Lady
Barbara, who had expected only opposition and attack, was stunned
for the moment. Here was an outcome so foreign to any that she had
imagined that she had no response ready. She almost laughed aloud as
she recalled the fears that had constantly harassed her since she had
determined to attempt Jezebel's escape. And now it was all so easy.
"Liberate the girl, Jezebel," she commanded, "and then make food ready
for her and for me."
"Quick!" cried the Prophet. "Raise the girl and set her free."
"Wait!" exclaimed a thin, querulous voice behind him. "I have walked
with Jehovah." All turned in the direction of the speaker. He was Jobab
the apostle.
"Quick! Release her!" demanded Lady Barbara, who, in this interruption
and in the manner and voice of the speaker, whom she knew as one of
the most fanatically intolerant of the religious bigots of Midian, saw
the first spark that might grow into a flame of resistance to the will
of the Prophet; for she knew these people well enough to be sure that
they would grasp at any excuse to thwart the abandonment of their cruel
pleasure.
"Wait!" shrieked Jobab. "I have walked with Jehovah, and He hath spoken
unto me, saying: 'Behold, Jobab the Apostle, a seeming miracle shall
be wrought out of Chinnereth; but be not deceived, for I say unto ye
that it shall be the work of Satan; and whosoever believeth in it shall
perish.'"
"Hallelujah!" shrieked a woman, and the cry was taken up by the others.
To right and left the excited villagers were being stricken by their
Nemesis. A score of writhing bodies jerked and struggled upon the
ground in the throes of convulsions, the horrible choking, the frothing
at the mouth, adding to the horror of the scene.
For a moment, Abraham, the son of Abraham, stood silent in thought. A
cunning light flickered suddenly in his crafty eyes, and then he spoke.
"Amen!" he said. "Let the will of Jehovah be done as revealed to the
Apostle Jobab. Let Jobab speak the work of Jehovah, and upon Jobab's
head be the reward."
"Another cross," screamed Jobab; "bring another cross. Let two beacon
fires light the path of Jehovah in the heavens, and if either of these
be His children He will not let them be consumed," and so, as Abraham,
the son of Abraham, had passed the buck to Jobab, Jobab passed it along
to Jehovah, who has been the recipient of more than His share through
the ages.
Futile were the threats and arguments of Lady Barbara against the blood
lust of the Midians. A second cross was brought, a second hole dug,
and presently both she and Jezebel were lashed to the symbols of love
and raised to an upright position. The bottoms of the crosses were sunk
in the holes prepared for them and earth tamped around them to hold
them upright. Then willing hands brought faggots and brushwood and
piled them about the bases of the two pyres.
Lady Barbara watched these preparations in silence. She looked upon the
weak, degenerate faces of this degraded people; and she could not, even
in the extremity of her danger, find it in her heart to condemn them
too severely for doing what supposedly far more enlightened people had
done, within the memory of man, in the name of religion.
She glanced at Jezebel and found the girl's eyes upon her. "You should
not have come back," said the girl. "You might have escaped." Lady
Barbara shook her head. "You did it for me," continued Jezebel. "May
Jehovah reward you, for I may only thank you."
"You would have done the same for me at Chinnereth," replied Lady
Barbara. "I heard you defy the Prophet there."
Jezebel smiled. "You are the only creature I have ever loved," she
said; "the only one who I ever thought loved me. Of course I would die
for you."
Abraham, the son of Abraham, was praying. Young men stood ready with
flaming torches, the flickering light from which danced grotesquely
upon the hideous features of the audience, upon the two great crosses,
and upon the beautiful faces of the victims.
"Good bye, Jezebel," whispered Lady Barbara.
"Good bye," replied the golden one.