OF TERROR AND SOUGHT THE WELLS OF LIFE.
Many hundred years before, one of the great heroes of the Greeks,
Hercules by name, had come into India, and had conquered the people
of the land, and had set up great pillars of marble wherever he had
come. So Alexander, now that he had beaten Porus in battle, made
up his mind to follow in the footsteps of Hercules and to see the
wonders of India; and King Porus promised to go with him and to
guide him. But before this he sought to find the Wells of Life of
which the Elder had spoken to him in the castle in the lake. But
Porus knew not of the way, nor any of the men in his army. So he
turned again towards the South as the Elder had bidden him, and
fared on his way.
Now as the host was on its march, it fell that the Greeks came
among a poor folk which lived in holes and caves of the earth,
and so poor were they that no man or woman of them had clothing
or ornament, but they all went naked, save that their king wore a
ring of gold on his head. As Alexander and his host drew near, this
folk sent messengers to him asking what he wanted among them, and
telling him of their poverty, so that he could win nothing from
them. Then the king made strait inquiry into their lives, and he
found that they were indeed so poor that they lived in caves and
holes of the hillside, and he was moved by compassion, and made up
his mind that they should be the better of his coming to them, so
he offered to give them what thing they should ask of him, however
great it should be. Then the king of that folk of naked wise men
drew near, and said: “O Alexander, this is our request; that thou
grant us never to die, for nothing else do we need.” Then said the
king to them: “O people, needs must that I die one day myself; how,
then, may I grant ye this thing?” And the naked wise men said:
“Since thou must die, O King, why dost thou hurry from one side of
the world to the other to slay a peaceful folk?” For a short while
Alexander was silent; then he spoke: “Know, O feeble folk, that as
the sea is stirred not by itself but by the breath of heaven, so
I am driven to do the will of the gods.” Then the naked wise men
left him and returned to their own place, for they would take no
gifts from Alexander lest they should become rich.
Two days after the parting with these men the host of Alexander
came on a desert place in which men saw a great temple, but no
man was therein. Then entered the priests and wise men, and they
saw nought save two great images, one of gold and the other of
silver. And as they considered the images they saw thereon writing
in the old language of the Greeks, and when they had read it they
understood that these were the images of Hercules which he had set
up when he came into India. When Alexander saw them he wondered at
their size, and could not believe that they were of solid gold, so
he ordered his men to pierce them through, and they found no hollow
within, but all was of pure metal. Now by the finding of these
images Alexander knew that he was in the right way, because here
it was that Hercules had turned back when he came into the land;
but Alexander and his host went on, for he desired to see all the
marvels of the land of India. So it was that, on the third day from
their parting from the temple, they heard the sound of a river, and
going near it, they found that it was very broad and deep; and when
the men came up they found that in no wise could men swim in it to
cross it. On the further side they saw women carrying great maces
and battle-axes of gold and silver, but there was no man among
them, or any weapon of iron or bronze, only of gold or silver.
Then Alexander and his men sought to cross the river in boats, but
great black beasts rose out of the river and bit the boats in half,
so that scarcely did they escape to land with their lives, and
they gave up the thought of seeing the land guarded by women, and
marched on by the side of the river.
As they were in camp next evening, they heard suddenly the sound
of trumpeting, and the watchmen told of a host of elephants coming
toward them. Then Alexander asked Porus and his men, but none knew
of any king of this land who could gather such a host, so men on
horseback rode out to see them, and when they came near they saw no
man with the elephants, and they returned and told the king. All
men were in fear, and the Indians most of all, for they knew the
madness of elephants, but Alexander bade a few of his men mount
their steeds, and to drag with them each man some swine before the
elephants, for he knew how that the elephant loathes the swine and
cannot remain in his presence. And it fell as Alexander had said,
for when the elephants heard the squealing and grunting of the
swine their wrath fell, and they turned, with lowered trunks and
flapping ears, and hurried away from the loathsome sound. Then the
Indians praised the wisdom of Alexander, for that, though he was
mighty in fight, he would not risk the lives of his men when he
could use craft to save them.
Now no man in the army had ever been in this land before, and their
hearts began to fail them when they thought that Hercules had
turned back from the journey, and they grew afraid, and Alexander
began to think that the gods were angered at his boldness, and had
sent the herd of elephants to drive him away; and so next day he
moved the camp to the west instead of keeping on his march to the
south, and pitched it on a great plain where there was no shelter
of hills or trees, save that to the south many miles off there was
a range of hills. When even was near, suddenly the clear sky became
covered with thick clouds, the sun became red and then seemed to go
out, and from the thick gloom a storm broke on the camp. The winds
blew, as it seemed, from all sides, north and south, east and west;
they tore down the tents and scattered them, so that no shelter
was left; and then the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and
the hail and rain ran along the ground. Never had the Greeks and
Indians seen such a storm, and they said among themselves, “We are
rightly served for leaving the road we were told to follow, till
we had seen the things we were bidden to see.” So at morning light
Alexander turned his face towards the south, and the army marched
towards the hills. Now though these hills seemed small and near,
yet they were really great and far off, so that it was five days
before they came to a valley near them by which they could enter
into the hills; and as they came near it they found but a narrow
passage into it, and well-trodden. When they were in it they found
that the valley was broad, and shut in between high hills on all
sides, that no man could climb them, and there was no water in that
valley, and no living or green thing. Here then they pitched their
tents.
Next morning when they awoke they found the air thick with snow,
and the cold was piercing, so Alexander ordered great fires to
be lit on all sides, while the varlets were bidden to tread down
the snow and stamp it flat with their feet. Then, as it grew near
mid-day, the air grew darker and a cloud filled the valley, and
they heard a great noise as if the earth was being torn apart, and
sparks of fire fell through the cloud, so that the tents were burnt
where they fell, and if they fell on men they burnt into the flesh
and left a scar. Then all the host were in terror, and Alexander
bade them offer incense and sacrifices to the gods, and they did
so, and a wind sprung up and drove away the clouds, and left the
air clear and cold. When men had rested for a short time and given
thanks to the gods for their safety, they began to move to the
other end of the valley to pass out, and they came to an altar in
the midst, with the bones of dead men lying round it, but they had
not been slain there, for there was no mark of wound or gyves. On
sight of this the leaders of the host halted around it, but none of
them could read the marks on it or know to what god it was raised.
Now while they were gathered round it men came running in haste
from the front, and they bore news that there was no way by which
men could leave the valley, and that they must needs turn back by
the way they came in. Then Alexander gave orders to return, but
when the army did so, lo, there was no way out in that direction or
in any other, for no man could tell the way by which they had come
into that vale. In short time all men were seeking for a road, but
none could be found, though great rewards were offered by the king
to him who should come upon the path. Then were the host in great
fear, for they said that the gods were wroth with them, and had
brought them into this land to slay them; but Alexander had trust
in the words of his god and feared not.
The wise men of the army and the priests of the gods were all
this time gathered round the altar in the midst of the valley,
trying to make out the meaning of the marks upon it, and now an
old Egyptian diviner came and stood before Alexander and said to
him, “O King, I have read the writing on the altar, and I can tell
thee the way out;” and the king said, “Say on.” Then said he, “O
Alexander, this valley is the Valley of Terror, of which ancient
stories tell, and whatsoever men come into it, they cannot leave it
except one man of them stays behind a willing victim, to save the
rest, wherefore on the altar are these words, ‘THE ALTAR OF WILLING
VICTIMS.’ Now, O King, we cannot leave this valley till one man of
the host stands at the altar and offers himself to stay here for
the safety of the army, with a willing mind.” And when the other
wise men heard this, they bade the king to make speed before the
whole army should die of fear, or of hunger. So Alexander called
the host together by the sound of the trumpet, and when they were
all in one place, he rose up and told them how that the whole
army was doomed to die, except that one man would offer himself
willingly to die for the host. Then all men burst into grief for
many men there were who would not fear death for the army, but
there was none who would willingly die. So for the space of half
an hour no one came forward. Then Alexander the Emperor arose and
said, “O Greeks, Persians, and Indians, seeing that I have led ye
into this land it is fitting that I lead you out, and since this
may not be, I myself will stay here so that ye may safely depart.”
Then the leaders came round him with tears and sobs, but he would
not listen to them, but bade them prepare for their journey. The
trumpets sounded again, and all men kept silence, for they saw
Alexander with his left hand on the Altar of Willing Victims, and
his right hand raised on high, and they heard him devote himself to
the God of the Valley--a willing victim for the release of the army.
[Illustration: Now when all had left the valley but Alexander,
standing at the Altar of Willing Victims, and Bucephalus his horse
by him, it was already evening, & the earth seemed to shake & the
way out was closed up.]
Soon as the words were said, a crash was heard at the head of the
valley, and when men looked they saw that a huge cliff had fallen,
and had opened a broad way out into the open plain beyond, and
men hurried to load their beasts and the knights rode on, and at
the last Porus rode on with them, for Alexander had bidden him
fear nothing, for the gods had promised him that he should not
die save between a soil of iron and a sky of gold, so that needs
must he escape from this Valley of Terror, and Alexander had told
the leaders of the host to abide forty days for him on the plain
outside if need be. Now when all the army had passed through, and
no man was left in the valley but Alexander, standing at the Altar
of Willing Victims, and Bucephalus his horse by him, it was already
evening, and the earth seemed to shake, and the way out was closed
up. When night fell, and all was dark, then the air seemed full of
fright, and from one side or another groans were heard, but none
came near. As hours drew on, the horse shivered with fear, and
when Alexander patted his flanks they were covered with cold dew,
and at last Bucephalus put his head under his master’s cloak, and
stood still, trembling. But Alexander stood all that night by
the altar with one hand on it, and he saw nothing, and heard but
the groans which echoed through the air.
When day dawned all was still in the valley, and as Alexander
looked about he saw around him nothing but high rocks coming sheer
down from the mountain sides, but when the sun shone into the
valley, he took heart and began to ride round the sides to examine
them for himself, and this he did three times, but he found no
way out. Then he sat down by a great stone, on which was marked a
five-pointed star, with many letters written on it, and as he did
so the words of Anectanabus came into his mind, how that this star
was put for a seal over spirits in prison, and he remembered the
mighty words that call on the spirits of the air and the earth,
and he said them, and bade the spirit under the seal answer him.
Then a voice came from under the stone and answered him, and told
who he was, and how he had been shut under that stone for hundreds
of years to work the will of the gods; and he asked Alexander
to let him go free. So Alexander knew that if he set free this
spirit he would destroy the enchantment of the Valley of Terror,
and he determined to let the spirit go, but first he questioned
him as to the way out, and the road to the Wells of Life, and how
he should know them. Then said the spirit, “O Alexander, there be
three Wells of Life, nor is it easy to find them. These be their
properties. The first is the Well of Life, and in it if any dead
thing is put, it straightway comes to life again. The second is
the Well of Youth, and in it all who bathe come again to the age
of twenty-five, be they an hundred winters old. The third is the
Well of Never-dying Men, and he who bathes in it shall not die of
any disease or hurt of iron, yet may he suffer pain of disease and
hunger, but he cannot die. Nor can this well be seen of all men,
or at any day, for but once in a year can it be seen, and then no
more of any man for another year. For the way out, I myself will
lead you and your horse, and I will give you the stone Elmas, which
shall guide you to the wells, for it shall shine and sparkle while
you are in the right way, and when you are in the wrong it shall
grow dull and dark. Long and dreary shall the road be, and few may
go with thee to that land.”
Then Alexander drew his sword and cut away the words marked on the
five-pointed star, and when they were rubbed out, he hacked away
the comers of the star, and as he did so, the earth-shook, and the
stone rolled over, and a young man stood by him holding a ruby in
his hand, and he said, “O King, take the stone Elmas, and set it in
the handle of thy sword, and come thou and thy horse with me, for
the valley is open, and men shall call it no longer the Valley of
Terror.” So the king came with his horse, and he passed out where
the army had gone, and mounted his horse, and turned to thank his
guide, and lo I he was alone. Then he rode into camp, and all men
rejoiced to see him.
Now, as Alexander came into the camp of the Greeks from the valley,
an old man of the country came up on the other side, and the guards
brought him before the King. Then he asked him concerning the land,
and who was the lord of it, and the old man said that no man ruled
in it, and few lived in it. Then Alexander asked him of the Wells
of Life, and the old man answered that he had seen them in his
youth and had bathed in the Well of Youth. Then Alexander asked him
if he would guide him to them, and the old man said he would, but
that he would not bathe in them, for he wished not to live past his
time. So he went with Alexander and his host as they travelled far
into the land of Ind.
For many days the host travelled, till at last the old man said
that they were near the land of the Wells of Life, and then
Alexander bade the army to halt, and he chose out a few of his
Greeks and with them he set out on his search. It had been told
Alexander that in the land there were many wells, and that none
could tell one from another, till they came to the right one, so
that he had prepared a way to find them out. Now the first well
they should come to was the Well of Life, and Alexander bade all
his men take in hand a salt fish, and wash it in every well they
came to, till they should see some strange thing, when they were
to tell it to him. It must be said that they of the host knew not
what Alexander was seeking, nor what was the reason of this washing
of salt fish. So the men went from one well to another, laughing
and joking, and washing their salt fish, till one of them, Andreas
by name, dipped his fish into a certain well, and suddenly the
fish came to life in his hand and slipped out into the well. Then
he cried out with a loud voice, and all the men near came running
up to him, but he could say or do nothing but point to the fish
swimming about in the spring. So they fetched Alexander to the
spring, and he gave orders to fill a cask with the water of it, but
the old man said that the water was useless except it were drunk
when it was drawn from the spring.
Then he came to the Well of Youth, and it was in a dry land where
no man dwelt, for there was no river or tree near. And Alexander
would fain have the old man bathe in that well, but he would not,
for he said that it was good to be young once, and to be foolish
once, but to be young twice would be to be always a fool, and old
age was best when a man was tired of life. So the young men bathed
in the spring and their hearts grew hopeful, and they rejoiced in
their youth.
There remained the Well of Never-dying Men to be sought for, but
the old man told them that this was not here, nor was there any
way to it from that place, for they must seek it in the dark
desert. On this Alexander asked him of that desert, and he said
that there the land was dark day and night, the sun shone not
there, and there was no track or path for men to travel by. “Yet,”
said the old man “it will be easy for thee to enter into the land
and to find the well, for thy stone Elmas will guide thee to it
when thou art in the land.” And with these words the old man turned
away, and when Alexander looked for him, behold, he was not with
them. Then Alexander and his men returned to the army.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]