RASPUL, THE SEER.
I slept for hours, and should have continued to do so for many hours
longer, had not the sheik roused me.
"It is past mid-day," said he, "and we must be thinking of doing
something. You have slept soundly, and should be refreshed. See, the
fire is almost out."
Then the horrors of the past night came back to me; it had been no dream
after all. I looked towards the doorway in the hollow, and now only a
thin wreath of smoke was issuing from it.
"Shall we ride back to camp?" I asked.
"Not yet," replied Faris. "I must go down to the chamber and look. Will
you also come?"
I hated the idea, but I felt that it would be cowardly to let the sheik
go alone; so we walked down together, and finding that the smoke had now
ceased, we peered through the doorway into the blackened chamber. A
thick grimy soot caked the walls and the stone ceiling, and the air was
laden with a foul smell, not unlike that of the boiling asphalt being
prepared for a London street. Hesitating to enter, we stood on the
threshold, not knowing that the flames might not burst out afresh; and
the remembrance of those long tongues of fire curling through the
doorway was sufficient to make us cautious. After a little, Faris took a
step forward, and shading his eyes with his hand, looked into the gloom
of the interior. I followed, but not without some misgivings. I looked
first at the spot where the seer had been standing when I saw the last
bead leave his hand. The couch from which he had risen had disappeared;
nothing remained but a handful of ashes on the floor. I gazed across at
the other side of the chamber, and when my eyes had become accustomed to
the dim light, I was able to see a large hole in the floor exactly where
I recollected to have seen the couch on which the three Bedouins had
been seated. Faris saw it at the same instant, and uttered an
exclamation of surprise.
"Let us go carefully, and look at it," he said.
We reached the edge, and found a great pit, how deep we were unable to
see. Pungent fumes still issued from it, and we were forced to draw
back. I turned to my companion for an explanation, and he dragged me out
of the chamber, the atmosphere of which was oppressive.
"It was a bitumen well," said he, "and the seer purposely set it on fire
through the agency of his gods. I am as much astonished as yourself;
for, I have sat on that couch scores of times, never thinking that such
a thing was beneath me. Perhaps it was not always there. Perhaps it was
brought by the gods only when the seer invoked their aid. But little did
he think that in thus destroying his enemies, he would also bring his
own death."
The sheik had hardly finished speaking before we heard a low wailing
chant coming from beyond the fatal chamber. Spellbound, we stood and
listened. Now the sound grew louder; now died away. Again it came clear
and strong. It was a strange unearthly crooning; and, had I been alone,
I should have fled from it. That I trembled I have no doubt, and Faris
saw my fear.
"Courage, lad," he said, taking me by the arm. "It is someone in the
temple beyond. Come, let us go and see. Death only comes once, and our
fate has already been arranged for us. If we are to die to-day, then we
shall die. We cannot alter our fate."
I made no reply, but nerving myself with a great effort, walked with him
through the chamber to the inner doorway. There was no door--whether it
had been destroyed by the fire, or whether there never had been one, I
cannot say. Beyond the doorway was a narrow bricked passage, with here
and there long slanting slits admitting the daylight. A steep flight of
steps led us to another stone doorway, on the lintel of which were
carved queer figures of beasts. Here we stood and listened. The chanting
still continued; and we moved on for a short distance along the
tunnel-like passage. Presently we found ourselves in a circular vaulted
room, with bare walls rising to a height of some fifteen feet before the
dome of the roof began. In the centre of the dome was a hole, a foot or
so in diameter, through which the sky was visible. Eight passages,
similar to that by which we had entered, radiated from the chamber, so
that its walls appeared like solid pillars supporting the roof. We
listened again, but no sound could we now hear.
"Sheik," I whispered, fearing to speak aloud, "do you know which way to
take?"
"No," he replied, "I know not this place. I have never before penetrated
it."
"Then let us return by the way we came," I urged.
"Courage, lad," said the sheik; "we will go on."
The rebuke, uttered a second time, stung me, although I knew that it was
meant kindly. I had always thought that I possessed an ordinary amount
of courage, but it seemed now to have deserted me.
"Well, which way shall we go?" I asked in desperation.
"We will try this one," said Faris, moving to the nearest entrance on
his right.
I followed him closely along the new passage, just able to see the way
by the glimmer of daylight falling through the occasional narrow
loopholes, which slanted upwards towards the heavens. That the walls
were thick and solid we could see from the depth of the loopholes--four
feet they must have been, at the least. For some thirty yards or so the
tunnel was straight; then it took a sudden turn to the left; then, after
a few yards, a sudden turn to the right; again to the left, and twice
more in succession to the left; after which we turned at right angles to
the right, and going for a short distance, found ourselves in another
circular chamber, alike in all respects to the first one. There was
again the hole in the vaulted roof, and there were the nine passages
leading out of it.
I sighed audibly, and the sheik looked at me and laughed.
"You are a magician," he said, "come, try your magic. Divine for us which
path we had better take."
"I know no magic that could avail us in this accursed spot," I replied.
"Let us take the way that we came, and retrace our steps out of these
underground dungeons; or shall we cast lots as to the road we shall
follow?"
"We will do that," said Faris.
I took nine revolver cartridges out of my pouch, and, shaking them in my
hands, said that I would throw them on the floor; then we would enter
that passage whose entrance lay nearest to a cartridge. The sheik seemed
much impressed by this, imagining, no doubt, that I was working magic.
So, hurling the cartridges into the middle of the chamber, I watched
them roll away. One of them stopped quite close to an entrance, and the
sheik forthwith led the way into the tunnel. Our wanderings were much
the same as before, and had the same result, in that, after several
turns and twists, we arrived at another circular chamber, from which
nine passages radiated.
The sheik was now beginning to lose his temper, and he cursed the man
who had designed the building that was causing us all this trouble. Then
he suddenly stepped forward, and stooping down, picked up something,
which he handed to me. That something was one of my own revolver
cartridges!
"Do you understand?" asked the sheik.
"I must have just dropped it," I replied.
"No," said he, "it is one of those that you threw on the ground. We have
returned to the chamber from which we set out. These tunnels have made
fools of us. Shall we leave them, and abandon our search?"
"Yes," I said eagerly, "it is the best thing we can do, for I see that
you are right; we certainly have come back twice to the same place."
But now arose a difficulty; there was no difference in appearance
between the entrance to one tunnel and that to another. Nine of them
confronted us. We knew which one we had just issued from, but we knew
nothing else. We walked round the chamber and examined each passage, but
found no clue. My heart sank, for I observed that the scanty light which
came into the dungeon was rapidly growing less, and that the day, in the
outside world, was evidently fast drawing to a close. Faris, though
annoyed at being outwitted, was still cheerful--and his cheerfulness
irritated me.
"Come, magician, cast lots again," said he. "Maybe this time they will
avail us better. The nearest cartridge to the tunnel which shall bring
us freedom. Throw the nine."
Again I threw the cartridges, and, as before, we wandered through a
passage, now almost dark, expecting each moment to reach the flight of
steps by which we had descended some hours before. We were, however,
doomed to disappointment. The passage turned and twisted, and eventually
brought us back to the prison chamber, with its high walls and its domed
roof.
It was now so dark that we could barely see the entrances to the various
passages; there seemed to be nothing for it but to spend the night where
we were and again attack the tunnels in the daylight. I, myself, was
dejected, dead tired, hungry, and thirsty; perhaps, I thought, we should
never get out of the place, but wander about until we died of hunger and
thirst. Faris, however, was quite hopeful.
"We will sleep here in comfort," he said, "like true townsmen, with a
roof over our heads. There is no water, certainly, but I have some dried
dates in my pocket, and they will sustain us. When daylight returns, we
will try each passage in turn, until we find that one which leads to the
steps."
"Could not we break through the wall," I asked, "and so escape?"
"The walls are thick and firmly cemented, as you must have noticed," he
replied. "Save my knife, we have no instruments with which to pick out
the bricks. Still, if, when the light comes, we fail to find the passage
that we want, then will we attack the walls. Come, here are some dates,
eat and be joyful; after which we will sleep and have pleasant dreams.
Then to-morrow we will gallop our little horses across the desert. Poor
beasts, they must be tired of waiting for us."
All light soon left the chamber, and through the opening in the roof we
could see the stars mocking at us. From each of the nine tunnels the
chill air appeared to pour in upon us, so that, for warmth, we sat close
together, with our backs against the portion of wall which separated one
passage from the next. In this position, in absolute darkness, we ate
our hard, dried dates, and tried to sleep. Whether or not the sheik and
I actually slept I am not certain. I think that I, at any rate, must
have done so, because I have no recollection of hearing or seeing
anything until I felt the sheik's great horny hand gripping my thigh,
and I became aware that something was happening. A light was streaming
into the chamber, and, as I looked, I saw the wall between two tunnels
exactly opposite to us gradually opening like a hinged door. The portion
of wall was, in fact, an actual door, and when it had opened wide, I
could see behind it a narrow passage, lighted with small lamps. In the
doorway there stood what appeared to me to be an immensely tall naked
figure, and so thin that it might have been the representation of a
living skeleton. The head and face were streaked with paint, so that
they resembled a fleshless skull, and the ribs and other bones of the
body were also painted to look like the outline of a skeleton. For a
second it hesitated on the threshold, with one arm stretched out towards
us; then slowly stepping into the chamber, it closed the door, and thus
left us again in darkness.
Neither of us spoke. I, personally, imagined that what I had seen was
merely in a dream; but I was wide awake, and could clearly hear my
companion breathing. The spectre, or whatever it was, was shuffling
about in front of us, and I expected each moment to feel the touch of
ghostly hands. Then in a deep sepulchral voice came the words:--
"Strangers are here within the sacred precincts. Let them account for
themselves, ere the fire comes to destroy them."
"We are not willingly here," answered the sheik, fearlessly. "We are
lost, and if you will guide us to the outside world, we will gladly
follow."
"Who are ye who speak thus lightly?" inquired the spectre.
"Faris-ibn-Feyzul," replied the sheik, "and a friend."
Then we heard a click, and the wall-door opened, showing the strange
figure standing in the entrance to the lighted passage. The outstretched
arm pointed down the passage, and presently the figure turned and
motioned to us to follow.
"Come," whispered Faris to me, "we will see what it means, even though
it be Death that is enticing us on."
So we started on our new and fearful journey, being led, as it seemed to
me, to execution. The passage was not of great length, and it ended
suddenly in a blank wall. There was again a clicking sound, and a
portion of the wall swung back to allow us to pass through, and what a
sight met our gaze!
We entered an octagonal-shaped temple, evidently of a most ancient date,
with walls of glazed bricks of various colours and arranged in strange
patterns. All around was a species of colonnade, supported by carved
pillars, standing on the heads of winged bulls, and in the alcoves of
the colonnade were long stone benches. Numerous small lamps illuminated
the interior, and in the centre was a black wooden altar, with,
immediately above it, an opening in the roof. Even at such a moment as
this I could not help thinking what my uncle would give to see this
magnificent specimen of a Babylonian temple; and I wondered how it had
happened that all the scientific excavators had failed to discover these
extraordinary and interesting remains. Such thoughts as these, however,
did not occupy my mind for long, for the stern reality of the present
soon drove away all musings on the past.
As soon as the door had shut to with the uncanny click, the sound of
which was beginning to be familiar, the ghost-man turned and faced us.
My hand involuntarily moved towards my revolver; for I had made up my
mind that, whatever line the sheik might take, I would defend myself in
the event of attack. The figure saw my intention.
"Fear not," said he, in a soft voice, "you are my guests here, in the
Temple, and are under the protection of the gods. Faris, it is I, Raspul
the Seer, who welcome you. When I heard you in the outer chamber, I was
offering a sacrifice to the gods who have recently befriended me. It is
a great occasion, and before attending to your wants, I must finish the
ceremony required of me."
The sheik's face was a study of utter bewilderment. He looked at our
strange host, but said nothing. Neither had he time to do so; for the
seer abruptly left us, and began his devotions, while we sank on to a
bench in the nearest alcove. The air of the temple and its surroundings
was heavy with intoxicating perfumes, which appeared to mount to one's
brain; and I noticed that Faris more than once put his hand to his
forehead, as if feeling their effects. As to myself, I found it
difficult to realise that I was not dreaming. But that things happened
as I am about to relate I firmly believe; for I afterwards
cross-questioned Faris carefully, and what he described that he saw
agreed exactly with what I am convinced that I saw, and he could have
had no object in deceiving me. Yet, I have often thought that both of us
must have been under some extraordinary influence, which, for the time
being, at any rate, warped our intellects, and caused us to see, or to
imagine that we saw, things which in more sober moments we should have
ridiculed.