Now the king's word was done, the anger went out of his eyes, and oncemore his countenance grew weary. A command was issued, and, with themost perfect order, moving like one man, the regiments changed theirarray, forming up battalion upon battalion in face of the king, thatthey might give him the royal salute so soon as he had drunk the cupof the first-fruits.
A herald stood forward and cried:--"Hearken, you Sons of Fire! Hearken, you Children of Umsuka, Shaker ofthe Earth! Have any of you a boon to ask of the king?"Men stood forward, and having saluted, one by one asked this thing orthat. The king heard their requests, and as he nodded or turned hishead away, so they were granted or refused.
When all had done, the Prince Hafela came forward, lifted his spear,and cried:--"A boon, King!""What is it?" asked his father, eyeing him curiously.
"A small matter, King," he replied. "A while ago I named a certainwoman, Noma, the ward of Hokosa the wizard, and she was sealed to meto fill the place of my first wife, the queen that is to be. Shepassed into the House of the Royal Women, and, by your command, King,it was fixed that I should marry her according to our customsto-morrow, after the feast of the first-fruits is ended. King, myheart is changed towards that woman; I no longer desire to take her towife, and I pray that you will order that she shall now be handed backto Hokosa her guardian.""You blow hot and cold with the same mouth, Hafela," said Umsuka, "andin love or war I do not like such men. What have you to say to thisdemand, Hokosa?"Now Hokosa stepped forward from where he stood at the head of thecompany of wizards. His dress, like that of his companions, wassimple, but in its way striking. On his shoulders he wore a cloak ofshining snakeskin; about his loins was a short kilt of the samematerial; and round his forehead, arms and knees were fillets ofsnakeskin. At his side hung his pouch of medicines, and in his hand heheld no spear, but a wand of ivory, whereof the top was roughly carvedso as to resemble the head of a cobra reared up to strike.
"King," he said, "I have heard the words of the prince, and I do notthink that this insult should have been put upon the Lady Noma, myward, or upon me, her guardian. Still, let it be, for I would not thatone should pass from under the shadow of my house whither she is notwelcome. Without my leave the prince named this woman as his queen, ashe had the right to do; and without my leave he unnames her, as he hasthe right to do. Were the prince a common man, according to custom heshould pay a fine of cattle to be held by me in trust for her whom hediscards; but this is a matter that I leave to you, King.""You do well, Hokosa," answered Umsuka, "to leave this to me. Prince,you would not wish the fine that you should pay to be that of anycommon man. With the girl shall be handed over two hundred head ofcattle. More, I will do justice: unless she herself consents, sheshall not be put away. Let the Lady Noma be summoned."Now the face of Hafela grew sullen, and watching, Owen saw a swiftchange pass over that of Hokosa. Evidently he was not certain of thewoman. Presently there was a stir, and from the gates of the royalhouse the Lady Noma appeared, attended by women, and stood before theking. She was a tall and lovely girl, and the sunlight flashed uponher bronze-hued breast and her ornaments of ivory. Her black hair wasfastened in a knot upon her neck, her features were fine and small,her gait was delicate and sure as that of an antelope, and her eyeswere beautiful and full of pride. There she stood before the king,looking round her like a stag. Seeing her thus, Owen understood how itcame about that she held two men so strangely different in the hollowof her hand, for her charm was of a nature to appeal to both of them--a charm of the spirit as well as of the flesh. And yet the face washaughty, a face that upon occasion might even become cruel.
"You sent for me and I am here, O King," she said, in a slow and quietvoice.
"Listen, girl," answered the king. "A while ago the Prince Hafela, myson, named you as her who should be his queen, whereon you were takenand placed in the House of the Royal Women, to abide the day of yourmarriage, which should be to-morrow.""It is true that the prince has honoured me thus, and that you havebeen pleased to approve of his choice," she said, lifting hereyebrows. "What of it, O King?""This, girl: the prince who was pleased to honour you is now pleasedto dishonour you. Here, in the presence of the council and army, heprays of me to annul his sealing to you, and to send you back to thehouse of your guardian, Hokosa the wizard."Noma started, and her face grew hard.
"Is it so?" she said. "Then it would seem that I have lost favour inthe eyes of my lord the prince, or that some fairer woman has foundit.""Of these matters I know nothing," replied the king; "but this I know,that if you seek justice you shall have it. Say but the word, and heto whom you were promised in marriage shall take you in marriage,whether he wills or wills it not."At this speech, the face of Hafela was suddenly lit up as with thefire of hope, while over that of Hokosa there passed another subtlechange. The girl glanced at them both and was silent for a while. Herbreast heaved and her white teeth bit upon her lip. To Owen, who notedall, it was clear that rival passions were struggling in her heart:
the passion of power and the passion of love, or of some emotion whichhe did not understand. Hokosa fixed his calm eyes upon her with astrange intensity of gaze, and while he gazed his form quivered with asuppressed excitement, much as a snake quivers that is about to strikeits prey. To the careless eye there was nothing remarkable about hislook and attitude; to the observer it was evident that both were fullof extraordinary purpose. He was talking to the girl, not with words,but in some secret language that he and she understood alone. Shestarted as one starts who catches the tone of a well-remembered voicein a crowd of strangers, and lifting her eyes from the ground, whithershe had turned them in meditation, she looked up at Hokosa.
Instantly her face began to change. The haughtiness and anger went outof it, it grew troubled, the lips parted in a sigh. First she bent herhead and body towards him, then without more ado she walked to wherehe stood and took him by the hand. Here, at some whispered word orsign, she seemed to recover herself, and again resuming the characterof a proud offended beauty, she curtseyed to Umsuka, and spoke:--"O King, as you see, I have made my choice. I will not force myselfupon a man who scorns me, no, not even to share his place and power,though it is true that I love them both. Nay, I will return to Hokosamy guardian, and to his wife, Zinti, who has been as my mother, andwith them be at peace.""It is well," said the king, "and perhaps, girl, your choice is wise;perhaps your loss is not so great as you have thought. Hafela, takeyou the hand of Hokosa and release the girl back to him according tothe law, promising in the ears of men before the first month of winterto pay him two hundred head of cattle as forfeit, to be held by him intrust for the girl."In a sullen voice, his lips trembling with rage, Hafela did as theking commanded; and when the hands of the conspirators unclasped, Owenperceived that in that of the prince lay a tiny packet.
"Mix me the cup of the first-fruits, and swiftly," said the kingagain, "for the sun grows low in the heavens, and ere it sinks I havewords to say."Now a polished gourd filled with native beer was handed to Nodwengo,the second son of the king, and one by one the great councillorsapproached, and, with appropriate words, let fall into it offeringsemblematic of fertility and increase. The first cast in a grain ofcorn; the second, a blade of grass; the third, a shaving from an ox'shorn; the fourth, a drop of water; the fifth, a woman's hair; thesixth, a particle of earth; and so on, until every ingredient wasadded to it that was necessary to the magic brew.
Then Hokosa, as chief of the medicine men, blessed the cup accordingto the ancient forms, praying that he whose body was the heavens,whose eyes were lightning, and whose voice was thunder, the spiritwhom they worshipped, might increase and multiply to them during thecoming year all those fruits and elements that were present in thecup, and that every virtue which they contained might comfort the bodyof the king.
His prayer finished, it was the turn of Hafela to play his part as theeldest born of the king. Kneeling over the cup which stood upon theground, a spear was handed to him that had been made red hot in thefire. Taking the spear, he stabbed with it towards the four quartersof the horizon; then, muttering some invocation, he plunged it intothe bowl, stirring its contents till the iron grew black. Now he threwaside the spear, and lifting the bowl in both hands, he carried it tohis father and offered it to him.
Although he had been unable to see him drop the poison into the cup, aglance at Hafela told Owen that it was there; for though he kept hisface under control, he could not prevent his hands from twitching orthe sweat from starting upon his brow and breast.
The king rose, and taking the bowl, held it on high, saying:--"In this cup, which I drink on behalf of the nation, I pledge you, mypeople."It was the signal for the royal salute, for which each regiment hadbeen prepared. As the last word left the king's lips, every one of thethirty thousand men present in that great place began to rattle hiskerry against the surface of his ox-hide shield. At first the soundproduced resembled that of the murmur of the sea; but by slow and justdegrees it grew louder and ever louder, till the roar of it was likethe deepest voice of thunder, a sound awe-inspiring, terrible.
Suddenly, when its volume was most, four spears were thrown into theair, and at this signal every man ceased to beat upon his shield. Inthe place itself there was silence, but from the mountains around theechoes still crashed and volleyed. When the last of them had diedaway, the king brought the cup to the level of his lips. Owen saw, andknowing its contents, was almost moved to cry out in warning. Indeed,his arm was lifted and his mouth was open, when by chance he notedHokosa watching him, and remembered. To act now would be madness, histime had not yet come.
The cup touched the king's lips, and at the sign from every throat inthat countless multitude sprang the word "/King!/" and every footstamped upon the ground, shaking the solid earth. Thrice the monarchdrank, and thrice this tremendous salute, the salute of the wholenation to its ruler, was repeated, each time more loudly than thelast. Then pouring the rest of the liquor on the ground, Umsuka setaside the cup, and in the midst of a silence that seemed deep afterthe crash of the great salute, he began to address the multitude:--"Hearken, Councillors and Captains, and you, my people, hearken. Asyou know, I have two sons, calves of the Black Bull, princes of theland--my son Hafela, the eldest born, and my son Nodwengo, his half-brother----"At this point the king began to grow confused. He hesitated, passinghis hand over his eyes, then slowly and with difficulty repeated thosewords which he had already said.
"We hear you, Father," cried the councillors in encouragement, as forthe second time he paused. While they still spoke, the veins in theking's neck were seen to swell suddenly, foam flecked with blood burstfrom his lips, and he fell headlong to the ground.