The Mediaeval City
THE sun was high in the heavens when the three comrades awoke.
Throwing back the flap of the tent, Reeves slipped out. The other
tents had been struck, and were already strapped to the backs of
small, heavily-limbed horses, while seated on the ground were the
five men who had challenged the trio on the previous night. They had
divested themselves of their armour, and were engaged in polishing
the closely interlocked rings of their hauberks.
The Englishman could not help noticing that, although their limbs
were powerfully built, and their muscles stood out like lumps of
polished stone, their feet were small and well-formed.
"Good morrow, stranger," they exclaimed courteously, when they saw
that Reeves was astir; and the correspondent, not to be outdone,
courteously replied.
"You asked Walter, our servant, questions concerning us," said he who
had been the spokesman overnight. "We will tell you as much as is
expedient. For the rest you must wait till you have seen Sir Jehan.
What would you ask?
"We are of the State of Croixilia," he replied, in answer to Reeves's
question. "Concerning its history you may learn much later--if it be
our lord's will. At this moment we are expecting an attack from our
hereditary enemies, the infidel Arabs of the tribes that are known as
the Kharili. For that purpose we have been keeping watch and ward on
the eastern borders of our territory, This day our relief arrives,
and we are free to return to the city for another month."
"What is the name of your city?"
"It is called Charleton, after Sir Charles de Wyke, who led our
ancestors hither. But tell me how are worked these weapons that the
infidels use. Beforetimes we have seen several, which have been
captured in fight, and though they did us grievous harm in spite of
the hauberk and helm, we could not find how they were shot, having
neither Spring nor cord, even as our crossbows have."
"That I can explain," replied Reeves; but in spite of his careful and
practical instruction the Croixilian seemed unable to grasp the
principle of powder and shot.
"I would rather place my faith in an honest longbow than in that
evil-smelling and thundering tube," remarked the latter, covering his
ears as the correspondent discharged one of the flintlocks. "It was
that noise we heard in the night, and we were fully expecting a horde
of these men of Kharili to pour upon our outpost."
"We were beset by a lion."
"It wants indeed courage to cross the lion country at night," replied
the man meditatively. "Even when we go thither--and that is
rarely--twenty men with bows can scarce drive them off."
"These gave us confidence," said Reeves, tapping the stock of the
musket. "And here, too, is a weapon that, though small, would pierce
a hauberk like an arrow shot through yonder tent."
"Have a care!" exclaimed the Croixilian. "Tell it not to our
overlord, Sir Jehan, or his anger will be aroused. He loves brave
men, but the boaster he abhors."
"I do not boast," replied Reeves calmly. "If you will but place your
coat of mail in front of that shield, I will prove my words."
"Try him, Garth!" exclaimed the others.
Without a word the man placed the hauberk against the trunk of a palm
tree, propping it up by means of a pear-shaped shield, and motioned
to the correspondent to perform his promise.
The buckler was of heavy wood, nearly an inch thick, and strengthened
with plates of iron; while the mail was made of links of steel.
"Put the armour in front of the shield, Rags," said Reeves, as he
threw out his ten notched cartridges and recharged with two pointed
nickel bullets.
Standing at less than ten yards' distance, the correspondent raised
his weapon and, without apparently taking aim, pressed the trigger.
There was a faint flash, a sharp crack, and a very thin wreath of
smoke.
"You have failed!" exclaimed the man Garth. "Your arrow, or whatever
you call it, has not even struck the hauberk."
"If you were inside it you wouldn't be alive now," replied Reeves,
striding over to the palm tree. "See!"
The look of incredulity on the faces of the Croixilian soldiers
turned to one of blank astonishment when they saw that a link in both
back and front of the hauberk had been severed as if with a cold
chisel, while a small circular hole marked the passage of the bullet
into the shield. Turning the buckler round, a jagged gash, caused by
the bullet flattening against the steel, was disclosed. Pulling out
his dagger, Reeves probed the tree trunk, and presently extracted the
distorted lump of nickel and lead.
"By St. George, I crave your pardon, stranger!" exclaimed Garth.
"This passes my understanding. Mail is useless against the weapon.
But now you must break your fast, for it is a good five leagues to
the city."
"Doesn't it seem wonderful?" remarked Gerald, as the three sat down
to breakfast. "We have suddenly dropped back into the Middle Ages.
Why haven't these fellows made progress, the same as the rest of the
world?"
"Possibly they have--after a fashion," replied Reeves; "only, you
see, their rate of progress has been slower. I should put it down to
want of intercourse with other nations; consequently a sort of
national stagnation has ensued. That is evident by the disbelief
expressed by the man Garth, who seems quite a decent sort of fellow
in spite of it."
"I wonder how they will swallow yarns about railways, aeroplanes,
submarines, and wireless telegraphy, for example?" said Hugh.
"I would advise you not to spring these upon them all at once,"
replied Reeves dryly. "They might need ocular demonstration--then
where would you be? But hurry up with your breakfast; they are
waiting for us before they make a start."
Soon the cavalcade began its homeward journey, the soldiers riding
horses rather higher than those on which the baggage was packed,
while the three Englishmen were provided with steeds resembling those
ridden by the Croixilians. Reeves noticed that the saddle was very
similar in construction to those used by the Arabs, but the stirrups
were more after the style of Europe. Also he remarked that all the
men wore a copper cross, which was affixed to the breast of the
hauberk after the coat of mail had been donned.
The oasis extended for nearly a mile, giving place to a broad and
deep ravine through which a river flowed with extreme violence,
leaping over ledges and foaming betwixt jagged rocks in a manner that
rendered it impossible for a horseman to cross.
"Whence comes this river?" asked Reeves.
"From the sand beyond the plain of Zachor," replied Garth. "It gushes
up from a large lake; but there are men who say that it tunnels
underground from the great desert of the north. Many of us have
journeyed thither, but none have found these words to be true."
"We found a Croixilian lying dead in the sand close to the river of
which you speak," said the correspondent. "See! here is his dagger."
Garth took the weapon and examined it carefully.
"Certain it is that this belonged to one of us," he exclaimed. "See
the sign of the Knights of St. Peter, an Order to which all of us
here present belong."
"How long ago did the man die?" asked Reeves.
"That I cannot say. For years past we have journeyed into the desert,
and many of us have not returned."
"Why did they go?" asked Hugh, who was able to follow the
conversation with tolerable ease.
"To seek a sign," replied the man briefly, and in a manner that
showed that he was unwilling to enlighten his listeners further on
the matter. "But here we turn aside. Were it a clear day we might be
able to perceive the city from this hill; but ere we cross the river
we must needs travel a long distance down the valley."
Between the river and the rocks that rose steeply on the north side
of the valley ran a broad path, which ages ago had doubtless been
formed by the action of the water, showing that the stream had been
far greater than it was now. The cliffs, jagged and showing signs of
volcanic agency on their higher parts, were smooth and rounded at
their bases; while on the stiff mud that formed the floor of the
valley tropical vegetation grew profusely.
"This river, if properly held, ought to keep back your enemies, the
Arabs," observed Reeves.
"And would do so if it encircled Croixilia," replied their guide.
"From this side we fear no foes, but from the east and from the west
the infidels frequently appear in vast numbers."
"And where does the river flow to?" asked the Englishman.
"That also I cannot tell you," was the reply. "Away to the south for
more than fifty leagues we have followed its course, but----"
The man stopped hesitatingly, as if speaking of some mystery; then,
setting spur to his horse, he cantered on ahead to join the horsemen
who were leading the cavalcade, leaving the three comrades to their
own companionship.
Presently the cliffs on either side of the river began to converge,
till they formed a gate or narrow pass barely fifty yards in width.
Here the path plunged abruptly into a natural tunnel, where, in the
sudden contrast from the glare of the sun, the Englishmen were unable
to see a yard ahead.
"Pull up till we get used to the gloom," exclaimed Reeves, "or we
shall be banging our heads against the solid rock."
Apparently the Croixilians realized the difficulty in which their
guests were placed, for three of them dismounted and took the reins
of the horses the Englishmen were riding. At length, after fifty
yards or more had been traversed, a small, semicircular disk of white
was observed in the distance. It was the end of the tunnel.
Five minutes later Reeves and his companions were blinking in the
sunshine. They found themselves on the borders of an open plain, the
river merging into a large lake that, although apparently not more
than a mile in width, extended as far as the eye could reach. On the
opposite side was a small stone fort, with loopholes fashioned in the
form of a cross, like those for the use of crossbowmen in feudal
castles.
Winding his horn, one of the escort blew a loud blast, and presently
a boat shot out from behind a low stone quay. In it were four men
with fair complexions, and, as they ran the boat ashore and leapt
out, Reeves noticed that they, too, wore a device on the right
breasts of their grey tunics, only instead of a cross this was the
letter T.
Into the boat the travellers with their baggage made their way, the
horses having to swim across; and, urged by the powerful strokes of
the rowers, the craft shot out for the opposite shore.
During the voyage the cross-bearing men held well aloof from the T
wearers, who, for their part, maintained a submissive silence. Reeves
would have liked to ask questions, but the silence seemed contagious,
and he held his tongue.
"Follow us carefully, riding one behind another," cautioned Garth, as
the cavalcade resumed its way. "One step to the right hand or to the
left means death."
The three comrades instantly complied, wondering what could be the
reason for the extraordinary caution, for the land was flat, and
composed, as far as they could see, of hard, sun-baked clay, with no
sign of a path or beaten track of any description.
On and on they rode, for more than two miles, in a perfectly straight
line. Reeves noticed, however, that the direction was maintained by
keeping a solitary tree in line with a peculiarly-shaped crag, both
being a long distance from the river.
Suddenly Garth, who was leading, stopped and dismounted. Grasping his
short spear, and treading cautiously, he stuck it into the ground. It
was like driving a sharp knife through a pie crust. The soil offered
a temporary resistance, and then the spear-haft sank, almost as far
as the hand that held it, without the faintest effort.
With a gesture of annoyance the Croixilian withdrew the weapon and
drove it in at a different spot, this time with more caution. Here
the soil was firm, and the spearhead had to be forced home.
Remounting, Garth now directed his course almost at right angles to
the former path, the rest of the party following him closely. As the
last man passed the spear he withdrew it, dismounting for the purpose
of stamping down the hole in the earth. Gerald was the only one of
the three Englishmen who witnessed this act, which was performed with
stealth, and he resolved to tell Reeves about it at the first
opportunity.
But the correspondent kept his eyes well in front of him, striving to
detect some leading marks for the new direction. Presently he gave
vent to a gentle chuckle. Garth was keeping the left side of an
immense baobab tree in line with a small cleft in the cliffs that
bordered the treacherous plain on three sides.
"Now, sirs, you are free to ride together," exclaimed the Croixilian,
as he wheeled and rode past, towards the men forming the rearguard,
in order to recover his spear. Though they were still on the
sun-baked plain, Reeves had no hesitation in taking advantage of the
permission. The idea of treachery seemed out of the question. Had the
Croixilians wished to take advantage of them, they would have done so
ere this; but Reeves could not help wondering where the soft crust
ended and the firm ground began, since there were no signs that there
was such a place.
"We should have been properly sold if we had attempted to cross the
plain on our own account," said Hugh.
"I shouldn't have attempted it," rejoined Reeves. "Stick to the river
would have been my plan."
"I hope we won't have to find our way back by ourselves," remarked
Gerald. "I saw that the fellow who picked up Garth's spear seemed
mighty careful to cover up his tracks."
"How?" asked the correspondent, and Gerald told him.
"H'm! Perhaps the caution was necessary, though not on our account,"
he observed. "However, I think I can find the path if we are put to
it. But here is another remarkable freak of nature."
He pointed to the gap in the cliffs, which now assumed the appearance
of the letter Z turned slightly askew. Hitherto a portion of this had
been hidden by the great baobab, but now the opening of the gorge was
fully revealed.
"Don't make a noise, as you value your lives!" exclaimed Garth, who
again returned to lead the cavalcade. "A shout would bring rocks
about your heads."
Owing to the peculiar formation of the gorge, it was impossible for
direct light to enter from above, but the gloom was by no means so
intense as in the tunnel on the other side of the river. The floor,
too, was composed of soft sand, so that the horses' hoofs made little
or no noise. Here and there the travellers had to avoid huge boulders
that had fallen from above, showing that the Croixilian's caution had
not been unnecessary. Throughout the length of this formidable pass
the path ran steeply for more than a mile; then the walls of rock
began to diverge, so that the sunlight streamed uninterruptedly upon
the ground.
"The danger is now past, sirs," said Garth, "although this pass is
still some distance in length."
Presently the horn was again blown, and in response a long-drawn note
came from the extremity of the narrow way, and the Englishmen saw
that nearly a dozen men were awaiting the little cavalcade.
[Illustration: THE CITY OF CHARLETON]
"What news, my brother?" asked one of them, as the parties came
together.
"Great news!" replied Garth.
"Of the accursed Moslems?"
"No; of these," he replied, pointing to Reeves and his companions.
The guardians of the pass were for the most part bowmen, clad in
quilted coats; while two wore hauberks, and were evidently men of
authority. All of them bore the distinctive sign of the copper cross.
"We must away, Gaston," said Garth, after they had conversed aside
for some moments. "Sir Jehan will be right glad to see these," and he
indicated his newly-found companions.
On breasting the next hill the lads gave an exclamation of surprise,
and involuntarily reined in their steeds to take in the scene that
lay before them.
Less than a mile away was a large town, perched on a steep crag. It
was the city they had seen in the mirage.
"Yonder lies Charleton," exclaimed Garth proudly, pointing to the
collection of battle-merited walls and towers. "Have you ever seen
the like?"
"I have seen larger, but none so fair," replied Reeves, with a
gallantry of which he had hitherto thought himself incapable.
"Yonder is the Mound of Pharamond, on which is built the palace of
our overlord, Sir Jehan. To the left are the twin towers of St.
George and St. Michael, which were all but overthrown when last the
vile followers of the false prophet surged against our walls. Faith!
I trust such times will not occur again, though it seems as if we may
soon be called upon to defend our gates once more."