That priestess of the nether world, the incestuous and blood-thirsty monster, who had meant to cut out my tongue in order to make sure of my silence, and who calmly contemplated adding fratricide to her other crimes, had saved my life moved thereto only by base greed.
Nevertheless, I could not remain insensible to her appeal to Gallic faith. I almost regretted the lie I had uttered, however excusable it might be in view of the treachery that the Frankish warriors had practiced towards me. At that critical moment I was, however, bound to consider my own safety only. I jumped at Riowag, and after a violent struggle in which Elwig did not venture to take a hand, out of fear that she might wound her lover while seeking to strike me, I succeeded in disarming the warrior. Soon as that was done I threw myself into a posture of defense with the sword in my hand and cried:
"No, I have no treasure for you, Elwig, but if you fear to return to your brother, follow me. Victoria will treat you kindly; you will not be a prisoner; I give you my word; you may rely upon the faith of a Gaul."
Both the priestess and Riowag refused to listen; breaking out into wild imprecations they made a furious rush at me. In the tussle that ensued I killed the black warrior at the moment when he sought to stab me with his dagger, and I was wounded in the hand in the attempt to wrench the knife from Elwig"s grasp. I had just succeeded and thrown the weapon into the water when, attracted by the noise of the struggle, Douarnek and one of the soldiers leaped upon the sh.o.r.e to hasten to my help.
"Schanvoch," Douarnek said quickly to me, "we did not follow your orders and row back at sunset. We remained at our anchorage, resolved to wait for you until morning. But thinking that you might issue at some other spot than where you landed, we rowed up and down along the sh.o.r.e. When we saw you this morning surrounded by those black devils, our first impulse was to row straight to the bank and suffer death beside you. But I recalled your orders, and we considered that for us to be killed was to cut off your retreat. But here you are, hale and sound. Now take my advice and let us return quickly to camp. These skinners of human bodies are ill neighbors to dwell among."
While Douarnek was speaking to me, Elwig threw herself upon the corpse of Riowag and rent the air with roars of rage interspersed with sobs.
However detestable the creature was, her paroxysm of grief touched my heart. I was about to address her when Douarnek cried:
"Schanvoch, look at the torches approaching yonder!"
Saying this Douarnek pointed in the direction of the Frankish camp.
Luminous streaks were seen rapidly approaching through the dark.
"Your flight has been discovered, Elwig," I said to her, and sought to tear her from her lover"s corpse, which she held clasped in a close embrace and over which she moaned piteously. "Your brother has started in your pursuit--you have not a minute to lose--come!--come!--or you are lost!"
"Schanvoch," Douarnek said to me as I vainly sought to drag away Elwig, who seemed not to hear me and sobbed aloud, "the torches are carried by armed hors.e.m.e.n! Listen to the clanging of their weapons! Listen to the tramp of their horses! They cannot be further than six bow shots! I beached the bark in order to reach you all the quicker! We shall have barely time to put it afloat! Would you have us all killed? If that is your purpose, say so, and we shall die like brave men; but if you mean to flee, it is high time that you move!"
"It is your brother! It is death that is approaching!" I once more cried to Elwig, whom I could not bring myself to abandon without one more effort to save her. After all, she did save my life. A minute later and she would be lost.
Seeing, however, that the priestess did not answer me, I cried to Douarnek:
"Give me a hand--let us take her away by force!"
It was impossible to tear Elwig from the corpse of Riowag; she held it in a convulsive embrace; the only alternative left was to carry off both bodies. We tried it, but soon gave up the attempt.
In the meantime the Frankish hors.e.m.e.n were approaching so rapidly that the light of their resinous torches projected itself as far as the beach. It was too late to save Elwig. Our bark was with difficulty pushed off; I took the rudder; Douarnek and the two remaining soldiers bent vigorously to their oars.
We were still within easy bowshot from the sh.o.r.e when, by the light of the torches that the troops carried, we saw the first hurrying Frankish hors.e.m.e.n ride up. At their head I recognized Neroweg, the Terrible Eagle, distinguishable by his colossal stature. He was closely followed by several other hors.e.m.e.n, all shouting with concentrated rage. Neroweg drove his horse up to the animal"s neck into the river. His companions did the same, while they brandished their long lances with one hand and with the other their torches, whose ruddy reflections lighted far the waters of the river and fell upon our swiftly speeding bark.
Seated near the rudder, my back was turned to the bank and I remarked sadly to Douarnek:
"The miserable creature is killed by this time."
And propelled by the three vigorous oarsmen, our bark shot through the water.
"Is that a man, a woman, or a demon that is following us?" cried Douarnek a moment later, dropping his oar and rising on his feet in order to look at the track that our bark left behind, and that was lighted by the glimmer of the distant torches that the Frankish hors.e.m.e.n continued to brandish even after they gave up the pursuit.
I also rose to my feet and looked in the same direction. A second later I cried:
"Stop! Do not row! It is she! It is Elwig! Douarnek, hand me an oar! I shall reach it to her! She seems to be exhausted!"
So said, so done. Fleeing from her brother and certain death, the priestess had thrown herself into the water and must have swam after us with extraordinary vigor. She seized the extremity of the oar with a convulsive grasp; two strokes of the oars backed the bark to her; and aided by one of the soldiers I was able to draw Elwig on board.
"Blessed be the G.o.ds!" I cried. "I would always have reproached myself for your death."
The priestess made no answer; she let herself down on the bench of one of the oarsmen, and shrinking into a heap with her face between her knees, remained ominously silent. The oarsmen rowed vigorously on, and from time to time I looked back at the receding river bank. The torches of the Frankish hors.e.m.e.n glimmered fitfully, luminous spots through the haze of the night and the vapors that rose from the river. The end of our pa.s.sage drew near; we began to distinguish the lights of our own encampment on the opposite bank. Several times I addressed Elwig, but received no answer. I threw over her shoulders and her clothes, wet with the chilly waters of the Rhine, the thick night cloak of one of the soldiers. In doing this I touched one of her arms; it was feverishly warm. A stranger to all that happened in the bark, the woman did not emerge from her savage silence. As I jumped ash.o.r.e I said to Neroweg"s sister:
"I shall take you to-morrow to Victoria. Until then I tender you the hospitality of my house. My wife and her sister will treat you like a friend."
She made me a sign to lead the way, and she followed. Douarnek then approached me and said in a low voice:
"If you take my advice, Schanvoch, after the she-devil, who I know not for what reason swam after you, has dried and warmed herself at your hearth, you will lock her up safely until morning. She might otherwise strangle your wife and child during the night. There is nothing more wily and ferocious than these Frankish women."
"It will be a wise precaution to take," I answered Douarnek.
And accompanied by Elwig, who, somber and silent, followed me like a specter, I proceeded homeward.
CHAPTER VII.
SHADOWS ACROSS THE PATH.
The night was far advanced. I had reached within a few steps from my house when I saw through the dark a man crouching on the sill of one of the windows. He seemed to be peeping through the shutters. I gave a start. It was the window of my wife"s room.
I seized Elwig"s arm and said to her in a low voice:
"Do not budge--wait--"
She stopped and stood motionless. Controlling my emotion I advanced cautiously, seeking to avoid making the sand crunch under my feet. I failed. My steps were heard; the man jumped down from the window sill and fled. I rushed after him. Thinking that I meant to leave her in the lurch, Elwig ran after me, overtook me and seized me by the arm, crying with terror:
"If I am found alone in the Gallic camp I shall be killed!"
Despite all I could do, I could not disengage myself of Elwig"s hold until after the man had vanished from sight. He had too long a lead and the night was too dark for me to endeavor to catch him. Surprised and uneasy at the incident, I retraced my steps, and knocked at the door of my house.
I could hear from within the voices of my wife and her sister, who seemed uneasy at my prolonged absence. Although they knew not that I had gone to the Frankish camp, they had not yet retired.
"It is I!" I cried to them. "It is I, Schanvoch!"
The door was no sooner opened than my wife, seeing me by the light that Sampso held in her hand, threw herself into my arms, saying in a tone of sweet and tender reproach:
"At last you are back! We began to feel alarmed about you, seeing you were gone since early morning."
"And we, who counted upon you for our little feast," put in Sampso; "but I suppose you met with old comrades in arms, and time pa.s.sed quickly in their company."
"Yes, I suppose the conversation was strung out over battles," added Ellen still hanging on my neck, "and my dear Schanvoch forgot his wife, just a little--"
Ellen was interrupted by a cry from Sampso. She did not at first notice Elwig, who had remained in shadow near the door. At the sight, however, of the savage creature--pale, sinister and motionless--my wife"s sister could not repress her surprise and involuntary fear. Ellen quickly stepped back, noticed the presence of the priestess, and gazing at me as much surprised as her sister, said:
"Schanvoch, who is that woman?"
"Why, sister," cried Sampso forgetting the presence of Elwig and looking at me more closely, "look, the sleeves of Schanvoch"s blouse are red with blood--he is wounded!"
My wife grew pale, stepped quickly back to me and anxiously scanned my face.