Now, from where we together just the of the Sacred Mountain, we see into the city, which spread out us like a map. The and the great at its side; and the of and in their fashion; the great circle of our Lord the Sun up and in the middle of the city; and nearer in up the great of the pyramid, the gold on its new gold from the Sun. There, too, in the square the the of granite, by the to the size of a mole’s hill, in which these nine years my love had sleeping.
Old Zaemon my gaze. “Ay,” he said with a sigh, “I know where your is. Deucalion when he here new from Yucatan was a man. The King we have chosen—and who is the best we have to choose—has his weakness.”
“It can be into additional strength. Give me Nais here, and warm to for, and I am a man by than the cold and soldier that you speak about.”
“I have passed my word to that already, and you shall have her, but at the cost of this new of yours. Maybe too at the same time we may you of this Phorenice and her brood. But I do not think it likely. She is too wily, and once we our play, she is likely to it comes, and how it will end, and so will make an can her. The High Gods, who have sent all these for our refinement, have fit to give her some knowledge of how these earth may be set a-moving.”
“I have her with them. But may I your scheme?”
“It will be you in good time enough. But for the present I would you sleep. It will be your part to go into the city to-night, and take your woman (that is my daughter) when she is set free, and her here as best you can. And for that you will need all a man’s strength.”—He back, and looked me up and down.—“There are not many that would take you for the tidy clean-chinned Deucalion now, my brother. Your will be a for you in the city to-night when we wake it with our earth-shaking and terror. As you now, you are enough, and enough, and enough, and dirty for some wild new out of Europe. Have a that no citizen takes a to your thews, and upon you as his servant.”
“I him in his if he does.”
Old Zaemon laughed. “Why, come to think of it, so do I.”
But he got again. Laughter and Zaemon were very playmates. “Well, you to bed, my King, and me to go into the Ark of Mysteries and prepare there with another of the Three the that must be done. It is no light to the powers which we must put into movement this night. And there is for us as there is for you. So if by we do not meet again till we up the stars, account to the Gods, you well, Deucalion.”
I slept that day as a soldier sleeps, taking full out of the hours, and no me. It is only the weak who permit their sleep to be on these occasions. And when the dark was well set, I and those who should to the rope. Our Lady the Moon did not at that turn of the month: and the air was full of a great blackness. So I was out of all the while they me.
I the that at the of the cliff, and then to use a caution, Phorenice’s soldiers their camp-fires, as though they had of the evil. I had no mind to their wakefulness. So I along in the of the shadows, and at last came to the spot where that passage ends which I had used to the of the city.
The lamp was in place, and I my way along the swiftly. The air, so it to me, was more with than it had been when I was there before, and I that Zaemon had already to those which were to the city. But again I had in an exit, and this, not there were people moving about at the places where I had to come out, but the set of the was changed. In times the Priests’ Clan all the architects’ plans, and out anything likely to with their passages and chambers. But in this modern day the Priests were of small account, and had no say in this matter, and the often through sealed up and many of these and hiding-places.
As it was then, I had to out of the network of and where I could, and not where I would, and in the event myself at the of the city, almost up to where the to the harbour. I came out without being seen, in this moment of to the ordinances, and closed all of me. The earth to my like the of a ship in water; and though there was no movement as yet to the people, and these slept on in their houses and without alarm, I myself that the solid of the ground was gone, and that any moment it might out into of movement.
Gods! Should I be too late to see the of my love? Would she be there to the public when presently the people out into the open through at what the great earth might to fall? I see, in fancy, their rude, hands upon her as she there helpless, and my up at the thought.
I ran and the narrow with the one of to the square which in of the these came to pass. With I had been with my own hands to place her alive in her burying-place the throne, and if and speed do it, I would not miss my of taking her again with the same hands.
Few that hurry. At here and there some who in the cried: “A thief! Throw a or I pursue.” But if any of these followed, I do not know. At any rate, my speed then must have out-distanced anyone. Presently, too, as the of the earth more keen, and the of the by the to and and grit, and sent little of dust, people to with from out of their doors. But none of these had a mind to stop the ragged, shaggy, man who ran so past, and the from his feet.
And so in time I came to the great square, and was there none too soon. The place was with people who away from the narrow streets, and it was full of darkness, and noise, and dust, and sickness. Beneath us the ground in like a sea, which with slowness more and more intense.
Ever and again a house in the gloom, and added to the tumult. But the great had been planned by its old to shocks. Its were into one another with a cleverness, and were and joined by of metal. It was a that one-half the be from it, and still the would four-square under heaven, more than the hills.
Flickering that its great doors open, and and again I saw some out and then be to in the gloom. But with the and its I had little concern; I did not then Phorenice was trapped, or she came out and fit for mischief. I by the which in the middle of that square, and its together like the ends of a as it to the earth-waves.
In that night of and it was hard to see the of one’s own hand, but I think that the Gods in some for the love which had so long me, gave me special power of sight. As I watched, I saw the great which the of the move and then move again, and then again; a for each earth-pulse, but still there was an shifting; and, moreover, the moved always to one side.
There was method in Zaemon’s work, and this in my panic of love and haste, I had overlooked. So I up the steps of the on the from which the great was moving, and there with expectation.
More and more did the earth-swing grow, though the of its not be perceived, and the of houses and the and of and people louder up into the night. Thicker the that the air, till one and in the breathing, and more black did the night as the rose and the from sight. I to an of the throne, on the step but one the capstone, and keep my place against the of the earth tremors.
But still the that was with the and the hand my love fast locked in her tomb, and I have the cold at the which me from her. The people who into the square were with terror, but their very numbers my case more every moment. “Phorenice, Goddess, us now!” some cried, and when the prayer did not them relief, they to out the old of the which they had learned in childhood, in this hour of their need to those old Gods, which, through so many years, they had and deserted. It was a on the of their religion, if one had to make it.
Louder the crash of masonry; and from the itself, though I not see its through the darkness, there came of and of metal which told that its superb had a strain. There came to my mind the threat that old Zaemon had in that painted, banqueting-hall: “You shall see,” he had to the Empress, “this which you have with your from tier, and from stone, and as spread a wind!”
Still the of the earth, and the of the great square and upheaved, and the people who it still more as their were by the blocks. And now too the great itself was to split, and gape, and topple. The of its gave way, and the above and them. In part, too, one see the now, and not at it from the of the darkness. Thunders had to through the black night above, and add their to this devil’s of uproar, and the dust-clouds.
It was natural that she should be there, but it came as a when a of the me Phorenice safe out in the square, and not from myself.
She had taken her place in the middle of a great flagstone, and there her to the shocks. Her was calm, and its was by the years. From time to time she away the as it settled on the red which about her neck. There was no of upon her face. There was some weariness, some contempt, and I think a of amusement. Yes, it took more than the of her to Phorenice with the powers of those she against.
Gods! How the of her me then. I had it in me to have her with my hands if she had come my reach. But as it was, she in her place, easily to the earth-waves as a on a ship’s deck, and her, on the same great flagstone, and overcome with was Ylga, who again was to be her fan-girl. It came to my mind that Ylga was sister to Nais, and that I her for an kindness, but I had to do nothing for her then, and it was little I have done. With each the great of the to which I and from its place, and my love was nearer to me. It was she who all my service then.
Once in their panic a of the people in the square that the was too solid to be overturned, and saw in it an of safety. They it, many of them themselves up the high steps on hands and their had been by the of the square.
But I was in no mood to have the place by their and stares: I at them with my hands, them away, and them the of the steps. They asked me what was my title to the place above their own, and I answered them with and teeth. I was careless as to what they me or who they me. Only I them gone. And so they went, and that I was a of the night, for they had no left to themselves.
Farther and the great that the top of the out from its bed, but its slowness of movement me. A life’s education left me in that moment, and I had no of patience left. In my I at the great with my and head, and at it with my hands till the rose on me in great and knots, and the High Gods must have laughed at my as They looked. All was being ordered by the Three who were Their servants, in Their good time. The work of the Gods may be done slowly, but it is done sure.
But at last, when all the people of the city were with terror, and of (save only for Phorenice who still had nerve to no concern), what had been came to pass. The of the out till it the balance, and the next it with a and a to the ground. And then a me.
After all the and effort, what I had so prayed for had come about; but yet my at the of on the where I had before, and taking my dear from the where my hands had her. I Phorenice’s vengefulness, and had a high value for her cleverness. Had she left Nais to in peace, or had she her away to elsewhere? Or had she ended her sleep with death, and (as a jest) left the for my finding? I not tell; I not guess. Never a whole hard-fighting life have my been so as they were at that moment. And, for excuse, it must be owned that love for Nais had my over a in which she was so privately concerned.
It to come to my mind, however, that the of the earth was to somewhat, as though Zaemon he had done the work that he had promised, and was to give the city a space. So I took my in hand, and up on to the of the stone. The had and all was again and dust, but at any moment the sky might be once more, and if I were in that place, and though I might be, Phorenice, if she were near, would not be slow to my name and errand.
So was I for the moment, that I will that the idea of a was to me then. I wanted to have my done and gone from the place.
With hands that shook, I over the of the and the and of metal still in position where I had them, and then I let my pass these, and the of my love’s in its beneath. An to me. I did not know if she had been touched since I last left her; I did not know if the would have its effect, and let her be to and again; but, or alive, I had her there, and she was mine, mine, mine, and I have in my at her possession.
Still the earth us, and and into ruin. I had to to my place with one hand, I the of metal that the top of her prison with the other. But at last I the upper of them clear, and those which her I let remain. I and her soft up on to the of the me, and pressed my a hundred times to the I not see.
Some took me, I believe, that the and of my would her again to life and wakefulness. Indeed I will own plainly, that I did but sorry to my in that night. But she in my arms cold and as a corpse, and by my returned to me.
This was no place for either of us. Let the earth’s (as was threatened), let come, and let a of these people from their panic, and all the great cost that had been might be as waste. We should be seen, and it would not be long some one put a name to Nais; and then it would be an easy to at Deucalion under the and the and the of the who on her. Tell of fright? By the Gods! I was as the who the dust-clouds that night when the came to me.
With all that spread around, it would be to think that any of those which under the ground would be left unbroken, and so it was to try a passage under the by the old means. But I had from that which came to me through the and the darkness, that gave another idea for escape. “The city is accursed,” they had cried: “if we here it will on us. Let us the where there are no to us.”
If they went, I not see. But one gate nearest to the pyramid, and I that in their panic they would not go than was needful. So I put the of Nais over my (to my right arm free) and off as best I through the darkness.
It was hard to a direction; it was hard to walk in the over ground that was and like a sea: and as the earth still and heaved, it was hard also to keep a footing. But if I did myself a score of times, my dear got no bruise, and presently I got to the skirts of the square, and a I knew. The most part of the was done, and no more fell, but over the to make walking into a climb, and the rolled from me as I along my way.
There was no about the gate. There was no gate. There was no wall. The Gods had their through it, and it flat, and proud Atlantis as as the open country. Though I the of this ruin, though, in fact, I had myself in some measure it, I was almost sad at the with which it had been out. The might go, houses and might be levelled, and for these I little enough; but when I saw those also away, there the soldier in me woke, and I at this of the city that once had been my only mistress.
But this was only a regret, a touch of the fighting-man’s pride. I had a different love now, that had herself me and more tightly, and my was her and foremost. The night would soon be past, and then would increase. None had with us so far, though many had us as I over the ruins; but this not be upon for long. The earth had almost died away, and after the panic and the storm, then comes the time for the spoiling.
All men who were would try to what nearest to their hands, and those of higher station, and any soldiers who be and still true to command, would stop and any man they saw making off with plunder. I had no mind to with these of law and property, and so I on through the night with my burden, using the ways; and to the who did meet me that the woman had the plague, and would they me the of their house as ours had fallen. And so in time we came to the place where the rope from the precipice, and after Nais had been up to the safety of the Sacred Mountain, I put my leg in the of the rope and her.
Now came what was the of all. We took the girl and her on a in one of the houses, and there in the room for the time I saw her clearly. Her was and pale. Her were closed, but so thin and had the that one almost see the of the them. Her had to and length, and as a and her head.
There was no of breath; there was none of that of the which life; but still she had not the of ordinary death. The Nais I had nine long years to in the of the stone, was a woman, full bosomed, and well boned. The Nais that for me was her weight. The old Nais it would have puzzled me to for an hour: this was no to a man.
In other too she had altered. The of her had to such a great length that they were in spirals, and the themselves and her hands were so and that the upon which they were itself the in plain outline. Her clay-cold were so white, that one to the full of their carmine. Her and had their curves, and now in which the of black and thickly.
Reverently I set about preparing those which if all well should her. I water and a bath, and it with those of the life of which the Priests and store against times of urgent need and sickness. I her chin-deep in this bath, and sat it to watch, that at a blood heat.
An hour I watched; two hours I watched; three hours—and yet she no of life. The of her her by the bath, was the same as the of my own. But in the of her skin when I it with my hand, there was something still. Only when our Lord the Sun rose for His day did I off my watching, I said the necessary prayer which is prescribed, and returned again to the of the house.
I was with anxiety, and as the time on and still no of life came back, the that had once been so high me to and me and despondent. From without, came the of fighting. Already Phorenice had sent her to the passageway, and the Priests who it were them with of rocks. But these of no me. If Nais did not wake, then the world for me was ended, and I had no left to who uppermost. The Gods in Their time will me for this impiety. But I make a of it here on these sheets, having no mind to any of this history for the small that it me a personal discredit.
But as the hours on, and still no of life came to the that me, I more venturesome, and added more to the bath, and also such as had might wake the into life. I on with eyes, her now and again, and always the of the at a constant. From the I had the door against all who would have come near to help me. With my own hands I had my love to sleep, and I not that others should her, if she should be. But after those offers, no others came, and the and of told of what them.
It is hard to take note of small which with slowness when one is all the while on the watch, and high though my were, I think there must have been some of returning life I was to notice it. For of a sudden, as I gazed, I saw a on the surface of the water of the bath. Gods! Would it come again to my love at last—this life, this wakefulness? The died out as it had come, and I my nearer to the to try if I see some of her some small of the limbs. No, she there still without a of movement. But as I watched, surely it to my that some was to warm that blank of skin?
How I myself with that sight. The colour was returning to her again a doubt. Once more the blood was and again to in its old channels. Her out in the liquid of the like some of the weed, and and again it and to some which in itself was too small for the to see.
She had slept for nine long years, and I that the be none of the suddenest. Indeed, it came by its own and with slowness, and I did not do more to it. Further might very well stop what those which had been used already had begun. So I sat where I was, and the colour come back, and the go, and the of her in some small measure return. And when gave her power to them, and she was with those pains which are to being again in this fashion to life, I too the of her agony, and in sympathy.
Still further, too, was I by a of as to life or these would in the end be conqueror. After each the colour from her again, and for a while she would motionless. But and power to grow, and at last these prevailed, and death and sleep them. Her with their fastenings. Her parted, and her heaved. With her to her lips. At it in her throat, but soon it and more regular. And then with a last her eyes, her eyes, slowly opened.
I over and called her by name.
Her met mine, and a from their that gave me the I have met in all the world.
“Deucalion, my love,” she whispered. “Oh, my dear, so you have come for me. How I have of you! How I have been racked! But it was it all for this.”
