BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON
Clearchus and Chares gazed with wonder upon the mighty walls of
Babylon, raising their sheer height from the surface of the Euphrates
until the soldiers who paced the lofty parapet seemed like pygmies
against the sky. The little cavalcade, stained with weeks of travel,
entered the city through a long archway tunnelled in the wall and
flanked on either side by enormous winged lions carved in granite.
Nathan reported to the captain of the gate, who detailed a lieutenant
to escort him to the palace. Chares snorted his disgust as the young
man took his place at the head of the troop. His beardless face was
touched with paint, and his eyebrows were darkened with pigment. His
hands were white and soft. His flowing robe of blue silk swept
downward on either side below his feet, which were encased in buskins
with long points. He glanced superciliously at the two prisoners.
"See that they do not try to get away here in the city," he lisped to
Nathan. "It might be hard to find them--there is such a dirty rabble
here since the Great King himself decided to take the field."
"Have no fear," Nathan replied quietly.
"Fear?" the lieutenant laughed. "That word, as you will find, is not
known here. Ride behind me and let your men surround these two dogs."
He adjusted his long robe and inhaled a breath of perfume from a flask
of scent that he carried in his left hand while he gathered up his
reins with the other. Chares could restrain himself no longer.
"So we are dogs, are we?" he roared, so suddenly that the lieutenant
almost fell from his horse. "Has no one told you that we Greeks have
to be fed? Lead on, or I will make half a meal off thy miserable
carcass, though how magpie will agree with me, I know not."
"Seize him! Seize him! He talks treason!" screamed the lieutenant,
scarce knowing what he said. He looked at Nathan's men, who made no
move to obey, but the gleam of their white teeth as they smiled at his
agitation brought him to his senses. With an air of offended dignity,
he set his horse in motion, and the little troop clattered away into
the city.
Inside the vast circumference of the wall they found streets along
which stood magnificent dwellings surrounded by trees and gardens. So
ample was the enclosure that ground enough remained unoccupied between
the houses to sustain the population, if necessary, upon its harvests.
Great temples reared their towers above the roofs. Gay chariots and
gilded litters passed or met them. Now and then a curious glance was
directed toward them, but beyond this they seemed to attract no
attention. Everybody was too intent upon his own business or pleasure
to give more than a passing thought to the sun-browned soldiers who
rode wearily behind the brightly accoutred lieutenant of the guard.
As they advanced the streets became narrower and the houses stood close
together, with no space between them for gardens. Shops and bazaars
appeared on either hand, filled with a bustling, chaffering throng.
The young Greeks saw a strange medley of nations. Swarthy Egyptians
elbowed dusky merchants from beyond the Indus. Ph[oe]nicians and Jews
drove bargains with large-limbed, blue-eyed men of the North, who wore
shaggy skins upon their shoulders and carried long swords at their
belts. This part of the city was given over entirely to foreigners,
for among the Persians the old belief still prevailed that no man could
buy or sell without being dishonest, and falsehood was held in
religious abhorrence by the conquerors of the Medes.
Darius was collecting the host which he purposed to lead against
Alexander and with which he intended to crush the adventurous invader.
Military trappings were to be seen everywhere. The summons of the
Great King had brought within the walls an enormous influx of strangers
from every corner of the empire.
Chares and Clearchus aroused more curiosity as they rode through the
narrower streets of the commercial quarter, where they were forced to
proceed more slowly because of the throngs. They were soon recognized
as of the race of the enemy.
"See the Greeks!" cried a bare-legged urchin in a shrill voice.
"By Ormazd, that is a big one!" said a soldier in a lounging group,
pointing to Chares.
"Granicus! Granicus! Kill the Greeks!" a woman screamed from the top
of one of the flat-roofed houses.
Her imprecation caused a stir among the idlers, who pressed forward to
learn what was the matter and to obtain a better view. The rumor ran
that there was to be fighting, and customers poured out of booth and
bazaar to see it. They came good-naturedly, but in such numbers that
they quickly blocked the way and brought the troop to a halt. Some
mischievous boys began to pelt the horses with pebbles, causing them to
rear and plunge. One of the animals kicked a man in the crowd, who
struck at the rider with his staff. The Arab lunged back with the butt
of his lance. The crowd drew out of the way, jeering and laughing.
Meanwhile the woman on the roof continued her cry. "Kill the Greeks!"
she screamed. "Slay them! Remember the Granicus, where they slew my
son!"
Her words were taken up and repeated by other women who leaned from the
house-tops on either side of the street. The crowd continued to
gather, those behind pushing the foremost against the plunging horses.
Several were trampled upon.
"Go away," commanded the lieutenant. "Stand back, you hounds; these
are prisoners for the king."
"Prisoners!" howled the mob. "Kill the prisoners! Burn the murderers!
They would assassinate the king!"
The crowd showed signs of becoming inflamed. Some of the bolder
spirits made a rush for the horsemen, seeking to pull them down and
break the circle that the Arabs had formed about the two Greeks. The
impact swept the little party into an angle between two houses, from
which there was no escape save through the multitude. The women began
to shower sticks and tiles upon them from the roofs. It became
necessary for them to raise their shields to protect their heads from
the missiles.
Nathan turned to the lieutenant, who, with a blanched face, had shrunk
back against the wall.
"Do you intend to stay here?" he demanded sternly. "Draw your sword
and lead us. We must cut our way out. My prisoners are for Darius and
not for these."
"They are too many," the lieutenant whined, with chattering teeth.
"Then give him your sword, since you are afraid to use it," Nathan
said, pointing to Chares. The Theban snatched the weapon from the
young man's hand.
A javelin hissed through the air, cast by some soldier in the throng,
and stood quivering in the beams behind their heads. Clearchus pulled
it out and took possession of it.
The mob still held back, agitated by conflicting currents. The idlers
who had instigated the attack in a spirit of wantonness had no stomach
for fighting, and were struggling backward through the press, seeking a
safe distance. Their places were taken by reckless and half-drunken
soldiers, who had grown weary of inactivity in the city and were eager
for any excitement, even though they obtained it at the risk of their
lives. Many of them were little more than savages whose innate
ferocity was aroused by the mere sight of blood. Some had received
cuts and bruises when the rush was made. The voice of the mob changed
from a tone of banter to a menacing cry for revenge.
Nathan saw that the non-combatants had succeeded in extricating
themselves, and that the men who now faced them carried weapons in
their hands and were preparing to use them. The situation was
perilous. His handful of soldiers were outnumbered by more than a
hundred to one. The mob was momentarily being reënforced from the
wine-shops and the alleys that honeycombed the district. It was plain
that there was no escape unless rescue should come quickly.
He raised himself on his horse and anxiously scanned the faces of the
crowd that had pressed back out of harm's way and now stood in
expectant silence. He knew that through the years that had passed
since the Captivity, many thousands of his race had continued to dwell
in Babylon and that the trade of the city was chiefly in their hands.
He saw their keen dark eyes looking on indifferently from beneath the
awnings that shaded the entrances of their shops. To them he
determined to appeal.
"Israel! Israel!" he shouted, raising his open palm above his head.
"In the name of Jehovah, I call upon thee! To the rescue!"
His cry rang clear in the momentary hush of expectation and reached the
ears for which it was intended. Upon the outskirts of the mob men
turned to their neighbors. "He is one of us! We must save him!" they
said, one to another. "Israel! Israel!" The rallying shout spread
through the dense masses of men into streets where Nathan's voice had
not penetrated. It ran like a spark in a field of dry corn. Bearded
men and dark-skinned youths left their occupations and sprang forward,
snatching up such weapons as they found nearest to their hands. There
was a second shifting of the crowd as they pushed their way toward the
front, pressing in a great circle upon the ring of soldiers who were
hemming Nathan in.
This ring was composed mainly of the fiercest and wildest fighting men
in all the Persian Empire. It represented the extremes of the Great
King's dominions. Yellow-haired Scyths, clad in the skins of animals,
stood side by side with gigantic negroes from the mysterious forests of
Ethiopia. Their language was unknown to each other, but they had been
brought together into a fleeting comradeship by the irresistible and
savage desire which, they held in common for excitement and slaughter.
The Jews attacked this formidable band without hesitation, hurling
fragments of stone, earthen pots, and even the merchandise that had
been displayed in the shops. The unexpected assault caused a momentary
diversion. The Scyths and Ethiopians turned and charged into the
crowd, striking with their swords and war clubs indiscriminately at
friend and foe. Chares tossed the long hair back from his eyes.
"Your friends came just in time," he said to Nathan, "but it would be
ungrateful for us to let them fight alone. Forward, Clearchus!"
With the Athenian at his side, he swung his horse into the street and
dashed upon the nearest of the Scyths, a giant whose voice had been
bellowing encouragement to his companions. The lieutenant's gilded
sword fell upon the knotted cords of the man's neck, and he went down
like some great tree in his own northern forests. His long blade
slipped from his hand, and the Theban, stooping from the back of his
horse and holding by the mane, caught it up.
"Ha!" Chares cried, swinging the heavy weapon above his head, "now we
can get at them."
The Arabs, headed by Nathan, had followed the Greeks and were fighting
beside them in a compact body. The Jews outside the circle had come to
close quarters and were hacking and thrusting with daggers and
butchers' knives. Their charge had been so sudden that the Scyths were
nearly broken, but they recovered themselves almost instantly. A
species of madness seemed to possess them. They closed in like a pack
of wolves, fighting with each other to get near enough to strike a blow.
News of the outbreak had spread far into the city. From every side,
thousands drew toward the scene of the battle, driving in the crowds
that were seeking to keep their distance. They pressed upon the Jews
and forced them helplessly against the weapons of their enemies. The
number of the Scyths was momentarily increased by the arrival of their
friends.
Nathan saw that the fight was hopeless. The Israelites, badly armed
and undisciplined, were melting away. The only chance of escape lay in
regaining the angle in the wall where they had first taken refuge, and
from which they might be able to enter one of the houses.
Chares was wielding the great Scythian sword with both hands. Whoever
was thrust within its sweep went down. Its tempered edge shore through
bone and metal, and no parry availed to turn it aside. Clearchus
fought at his shoulder with his javelin, protecting him against attack
in the rear.
"Back!" Nathan shouted to them. "We cannot face the odds. We must
seek the wall!"
"You are right," Chares answered without turning his head. "We are
coming. I wish Alexander were here!"
He cut down a negro who had succeeded in getting within the thrust of
Clearchus' lance.
"This is better than Granicus," he panted, as the man rolled upon the
ground.
Clearchus made no reply, and Chares saw that his face was drawn and
pale. It was clear that he was becoming exhausted. The Theban was
filled with sudden alarm.
"To the wall!" he cried, wheeling his horse. "Bear up for a little
yet, and we will show these beasts how Greeks can die!"
They recovered their position with difficulty, followed by the howling
Scyths and negroes. Half the Arab escort had been killed, and Nathan
was bleeding from a wound in the thigh, though he still fought
gallantly. Chares alone was both unwearied and unscathed. He seemed
endowed with the strength of ten men as he faced the fierce onset. His
aspect as he turned at bay with uplifted sword caused the Scyths for an
instant to hesitate. Then they charged, clustering around the little
band like a swarm of angry bees, pushing each other forward and
striking over one another's shoulders. It was clear that the conflict
could not last much longer. Nathan knew that, once they were down in
that seething and raging mob, they would meet a frightful death. His
flesh shuddered at the thought of what was to come.
"Down with them! Down with the Greek dogs! They give way!" yelled the
mob.
Clearchus glanced at the sea of distorted faces, white, yellow, and
black, and saw thousands of eyes glaring hungrily at them. A strange
indifference took possession of him. Why should he strive? What
mattered it now whether the God of Nathan was mightier than the Gods of
Greece? Not even the Gods could save them. If Artemisia were dead, he
would meet her presently in the Elysian Fields. If she were living,
sooner or later she would join him in the land of shades beyond Styx.
There he would tell her how his heart had suffered. It was easier to
die than to live, since now he must die.
"It is finished, Chares; we will go together," he called to the Theban.
"Not until I get this one!" Chares replied grimly, nodding toward a man
who crouched before him just beyond the reach of his sword.
The squat figure was bent for a spring. The man wore a leopard skin
across his muscular shoulders and his little green eyes were fastened
ferociously upon the Theban, watching for an opening. Clearchus
thought he had never seen anything more repulsive than the flat, broad
face, with its strong, yellow teeth showing like fangs. As he looked
he heard Nathan's voice beside him.
"O Lord, my God, save now Thy servant, if such be Thy will; for without
Thee, I perish!" cried the Israelite, in an accent of despair.
"Here he comes!" Chares shouted.
The figure of the crouching Scyth bounded forward, and his bright
sword, keen as a razor, flashed in the air.
"I have him!" Chares cried exultingly. His long blade hissed downward
as he spoke, and the ugly round head rolled in the dirt. The stroke
was followed by a roar of rage from the Scyths, among whom the man had
evidently been a leader of importance.
"Come on!" the Theban called to them, tauntingly. "Cowards, why do you
wait?"
The challenge seemed to goad them to desperation. They came with a
rush in which they threw aside all caution. The remnant of the little
troop was hurled violently backward. Chares' sword rose and fell
without a pause; Nathan and the men who remained to him cut and thrust
at the faces of their foes; and even Clearchus, roused by the instinct
of self-preservation, plied his javelin. The end had come, and nothing
remained but to die bravely.
It seemed to Clearchus that they would be able to hold out for only a
moment longer, when without apparent, reason the attack suddenly
slackened. The Scyths drew back, leaving a circle of dead and wounded
under the wall. The mass of humanity that blocked the street swayed
and gave way with a roar of warning and of fear. The mob was all in
motion. It seemed to be fleeing before some danger, the nature of
which the objects of its attack were unable to guess. It rushed past
the angle in the wall where Nathan and his prisoners had taken refuge,
carrying the struggling Scyths along with it.
"What is happening?" Clearchus gasped.
Nathan was too nearly exhausted to reply. He shook his head as a sign
that he did not know, but the answer was not long delayed.
The beat of trampling hoofs and the thunder of rolling wheels was
mingled with the roar of panic, and in an instant the street was filled
from side to side with close ranks of wild-looking horsemen.
"Way for Bessus! Make way for the noble viceroy!" they shouted,
striking right and left with their rawhide whips.
They rode into the mob with reckless indifference, and all who were
unfortunate enough to be unable to get out of their way were trampled
under the hoofs of the galloping horses.
"They are the Bactrians," Nathan panted. "We are saved."
From their sheltering angle, the Greeks watched the horsemen go past.
Every man seemed an athlete, and the riders sat upon the backs of their
horses as though they had grown there. Behind them, after a brief
interval, rumbled a heavy war chariot drawn by four black steeds. In
this ponderous vehicle, beside the charioteer, stood a corpulent man,
with an enormously thick neck and a heavy jaw that gave an aspect of
sternness to his dark face. He paid no heed to the lifeless forms over
which the wheels of his chariot rolled, and he seemed deaf to the cries
of pain uttered by the wretches who had been maimed beneath the hoofs
of his guard. Clearchus' eyes for a moment met those of the viceroy
and he felt a chill strike through him, as though he had touched some
monstrous reptile unawares.
The passage of the Bactrians effectually cleared the street, but Nathan
deemed it wise to fall in behind them lest the attack should be
renewed. As they were about to start, a thought occurred to Chares.
"Where is the lieutenant?" he asked.
"He is there," Nathan replied, pointing to a heap of the slain.
The body of the young man lay a little apart from the rest, with the
paint still on its cheeks and a gaping wound in its chest.
"So his cowardice did not save him," Chares said. "Let us go."
"Come, then," Nathan replied, and behind the chariot of Bessus, they
arrived at the gates which gave entrance to the enclosure in which
stood the royal palace.