Medoko had been hurried from the presence, and urged along the rough
road with as much rapidity as possible; but people are seldom so
unfortunate as they suppose themselves to be. His fate was not as yet
accomplished, and a slight diversion had been already made in his
favour. A faithful follower, alarmed at the protracted stay of his
chief, had silently stationed himself at the secret outlet of the
palace, whence he witnessed the progress of his beloved master. A
devoted band, having hastily collected, followed close on the footsteps
of the guard; and as the prisoner passed through the thick forest of
Aferbeine, the shrill note of the Galla henchman more than once fell on
his attentive ear, to convey the welcome tidings that he was not
altogether deserted in this his hour of distress.
As the party climbed the rocky steep, the moon was fast sinking behind
the great mountains, and her pale beams fell cold over the isolated rock
of Goncho, on the summit of which is perched the state prison of the
kingdom. The lower extremity of this hill is rent and furrowed by many
tangled ravines, and the bare craggy scarp frowns over the
wide-spreading valleys which stretch on either side. Sharp palisades
guard the approach, and strong gateways lead through well-defended
courtyards to a cluster of edifices which form the residence of the
frontier governor, and the entrance to the places of confinement.
Vanquished by fate, yet refusing to yield, a spasm of painful emotion
covered with cold dew the brow of the haughty chief, as he passed the
rocky threshold of the prison. But the thoughts of a free foot on the
mountain-side, and the signal vengeance that would follow, banished from
his stout heart the usual feelings of despair, and in ironical words he
returned the salutations of his brother Abogaz, into whose keeping he
was about to be consigned.
Wulasma Mohammad was a fat imperious personage, of most sinister
expression of countenance, and much more feared than either loved or
respected. The cool healthy air of his mountain fortress, and a quiet
life of inactivity, had filled his veins with a rich flow of blood, and
he spent the greater portion of the day over a jar of potent hydromel.
His body had become bloated and his mind bewildered by the fumes of the
liquor; and dividing his time between dreaming and drinking, he left the
charge of his bolts and avocations to his burly brother Jhalia, who,
fortunately for the prisoner, was now engaged on the frontier in
quelling a disturbance which had been induced by the stupidity of his
superior.
The vulture eye of the Abogaz brightened up on the arrival of the
illustrious Medoko; and being at the moment unable to comprehend whether
he came as a prisoner or as a guest, an order for entertainment and wine
rung through the apartment, instead of chains and fetters for the
malefactor. Relieved from the ropes which had hitherto confined his
movements, the chief was ushered with all ceremony into the great hall
of the court; nor was it until after reiterated requests on the part of
the guard, and a solemn adjuration by the life of the king, that the
blinking gaoler, cheated out of his expected carouse, consented to take
some measures of precaution.
Built on the only sloping face of the hill, the governor's houses
stretch entirely across the outlet from scarp to scarp, and from his
immediate bedchamber two trap-doors cover the passages to the inner
recesses of the prison. A staircase descends from one into the vaults
underground, where immured in chains are the state criminals, and the
younger branches of the royal family; and a passage leads through the
other to a series of small apartments erected upon the upper surface of
the hill, but surrounded by strong palisades to the very verge of the
precipice. The scarp was of considerable height, and had never yet been
attempted by those offenders whose lighter crimes had enforced a
residence in these more agreeable locations; and the besotted Wulasma
being in no mood to reflect on the strength and daring of his present
charge, merely conducted him to one of these places of security, and
barring the door on the outside, retired grumbling to the crown
officials, after leaving an ample repast for the entertainment of his
distinguished prisoner.
The rude wax taper was flaming and sinking at intervals over the
untouched food, as one quarter of an hour was passed in attentive
musing; but the peculiarities of the prisoner's situation were too
striking not to be immediately taken advantage of, and he accordingly
braced up his spirits for the enterprise. Having contrived with his
host's knife to remove the thongs and sticks which composed the walls of
his flimsy dungeon, he crept into an outer apartment, where the stars
could be perceived twinkling brightly through an aperture. To wrench
the iron bars from the window was the work of a moment; and leaping from
a considerable height, Medoko stood unshackled in the cool air of
heaven. There remained still many hours of the night, and the darkness
favoured his undertaking, although otherwise little suited to the task
to be performed; but palisade and paling gradually yielded to his
strength, and after an anxious hour of exertion, he reached the dark
precipice unnoticed and undiscovered.
Nought broke the stillness of the scene save the sound of the wind
whistling over the bleak crags; and as the daring fugitive stood for a
time in meditation before venturing the awful leap, an owl, brushing his
cheek, soared away on noiseless pinion; its hoot which re-echoed from
below seeming as the voice of a spirit calling to follow without fear.
Quickly recovering his confidence at the omen, and nerving himself for
the perilous task, he slid down the face of the precipice, and
recommending his soul to the Holy Virgin, quitted hold of the last tuft
of grass which sustained him over the yawning gulf. Down, down dropped
the chief, until his very senses reeled again; but his flowing cotton
robe materially assisted the miraculous descent, by catching the sharp
points, and restraining for a moment the rapidity of his flight. The
strength of his long brawny arms served him well in this hour of need,
as clutching the rocks he retained his hold for a second, in order to
gain breath for the next dread plunge into the gloomy abyss. Then
bounding again like the falling stone, he pursued his flight, till at
length, bruised and bleeding, he reached the bottom of the rocky scarp,
hitherto untraversed except by the sticky foot of the lizard.
The shrill note for assistance, well known to every Galla ear, was
speedily answered by his watchful followers. Crowding round their
beloved chief, they quickly bound up his wounds, and after a short rest
the party recovered the beaten track. Placed once again on his own good
steed, he raised his form in the stirrups, and shouted his battle-cry of
defiance. Each bridle was laid loose upon the mane, and the wild riders
plunged at speed down the flinty ravine, now partially illumined by the
flash of matchlocks from the alarmed garrison. A brave spirit is not to
be subdued by exile, for every soil forms his home and his country; and
away to the free plains of the Galla the headlong course was bent, where
Medoko was well assured of receiving every sympathy and protection.
Volume Two, Chapter XV.