CHAPTER II.
In spite of the surrounding gloom, Ledscha recognised the man who leftthe boat.
The greeting he shouted told her that it was Hermon's slave, Pias, aBiamite, whom she had met in the house of some neighbours who were hisrelatives and had sharply rebuffed when he ventured to accost her morefamiliarly than was seemly for one in bondage.
True, in his childhood this man had lived near Tennis as the son ofa free papyrus raiser, but when still a lad was sold into slavery inAlexandria with his father, who had been seized for taking part in aninsurrection against the last king.
In the service of Areluas, his present master's uncle, who had given himto his nephew, and as the slave of the impetuous yet anything but cruelsculptor, Hermon, he had become accustomed to bondage, but was still farmore strongly attached to his Biamite race than to the Greek, to whom,it is true, his master belonged, but who had robbed him and his familyof freedom.
The man of forty did not lack mother wit, and as his hard fate renderedhim thoughtful and often led him to use figurative turns of speech,which were by no means intended as jests, he had been called by hisfirst master "Bias" for the sage of Priene.
In the house of Hermon, who associated with the best artists inAlexandria, he had picked up all sorts of knowledge and gladly welcomedinstruction. His highest desire was to win esteem, and he often did so.
Hermon prized the useful fellow highly. He had no secrets from him, andwas sure of his silence and good will.
Bias had managed to lure many a young beauty in Alexandria, in whom thesculptor had seen a desirable model, to his studio, even under the mostdifficult circumstances; but he was vexed to find that his master hadcast his eye upon the daughter of one of the most distinguished familiesamong his own people. He knew, too, that the Biamites jealouslyguarded the honour of their women, and had represented to Hermon whata dangerous game he was playing when he began to offer vows of love toLedscha.
So it was an extremely welcome task to be permitted to inform her thatshe was awaiting his master in vain.
In reply to her inquiry whether it was the aristocrat who had justarrived who kept Hermon from her, he admitted that she was right, butadded that the gods were above even kings, and his master was obliged toyield to the Alexandrian's will.
Ledscha laughed incredulously: "He--obey a woman!"
"He certainly would not submit to a man," replied the slave. "Artists,you must know, would rather oppose ten of the most powerful men thanone weak woman, if she is only beautiful. As for the daughter ofArchias--thereby hangs a tale."
"Archias?" interrupted the girl. "The rich Alexandrian who owns thegreat weaving house?"
"The very man."
"So it is his daughter who is keeping Hermon? And you say he is obligedto serve her?"
"As men serve the Deity, to the utmost, or truth," replied the slaveimportantly. "Archias, the father, it is true, imposed upon us the debtwhich is most tardily paid, and which people, even in this country, call'gratitude.' We are under obligations to the old man--there's no denyingit--and therefore also to his only child."
"For what?" Ledscha indignantly exclaimed, and the dark eyebrows whichmet above her delicate nose contracted suspiciously. "I must know!"
"Must!" repeated the slave. "That word is a ploughshare which suits onlyloose soil, and mine, now that my master is waiting for me, can not betilled even by the sharpest. Another time! But if, meanwhile, you haveany message for Hermon----"
"Nothing," she replied defiantly; but Bias, in a tone of the most eagerassent, exclaimed: "One friendly word, girl. You are the fairest amongthe daughters of the highest Biamite families, and probably the richestalso, and therefore a thousand times too good to yield what adorns youto the Greek, that it may tickle the curiosity of the Alexandrian apes.There are more than enough women in the capital to serve that purpose.Trust the experience of a man not wholly devoid of wisdom, my girl. Hewill throw you aside like an empty wine bottle when he has used you fora model."
"Used?" interrupted Ledscha disdainfully; but he repeated with firmdecision: "Yes, used! What could you learn of life, of art and artists,here in the weaver's nest in the midst of the waves? I know them. Asculptor needs beautiful women as a cobbler wants leather, and thecharms he seeks in you he does not conceal from his friend Myrtilus, atleast. They are your large almond-shaped eyes and your arms. They makehim fairly wild with delight by their curves when, in drawing water, youhold the jug balanced on your head. Your slender arched foot, too, is awelcome morsel to him."
The darkness prevented Bias from seeing Ledscha's features, but itwas easy to perceive what was passing in her mind as, hoarse withindignation, she gasped: "How can I know the object of your accusations?but fie upon the servant who would alienate from his own kind masterwhat his soul desires!"
Then Bias changed not only his tone of voice, but his language, and,deeply offended, poured forth a torrent of wrath in the dialect of hispeople: "If to guard you, and my master with you, from harm, my wordshad the power to put between you and Hermon the distance which separatesyonder rising moon from Tennis, I would make them sound as loud asthe lion's roar. Yet perhaps you would not understand them, for you gothrough life as though you were deaf and blind. Did you ever even askyourself whether the Greek is not differently constituted from the sonsof the Biamite sailors and fishermen, with whom you grew up, and to whomhe is an abomination? Yet he is no more like them than poppy juice islike pure water. He and his companions turn life upside down. There isno more distinction between right and wrong in Alexandria than we herein the dark can make between blue and green. To me, the slave, who isalready growing old, Hermon is a kind master. I know without youraid what I owe him, and serve him as loyally as any one; but where hethreatens to lead to ruin the innocent daughter of the race whose bloodflows in my veins as well as yours, and in doing so perhaps finallydestroy himself too, conscience commands me to raise my voice as loudas the sentinel crane when danger threatens the flock. Beware, girl, Irepeat! Keep your beauty, which is now to be degraded to feast the eyesof gaping Greeks, for the worthiest husband among our people. ThoughHermon has vowed, I know not what, your love-dallying will very soon beover; we shall leave Tennis within the next few days. When he has gonethere will be one more deceived Biamite who will call down the curseof the gods upon the head of a Greek. You are not the only one who willexecrate the destiny that brought us here. Others have been caught inhis net too."
"Here?" asked Ledscha in a hollow tone; and the slave eagerly answered:"Where else? And that you may know the truth--among those who visitedHermon in his studio is your own young sister."
"Our Taus? That child?" exclaimed the girl, stretching her hands towardthe slave in horror, as if to ward off some impending disaster.
"That child, who, I think, has grown into a very charming girl--and,before her, pretty Gula, the wife of Paseth, who, like your father, isaway on his ship."
Here, in a tone of triumphant confidence, the answer rang from theBiamite's lips: "There the slanderer stands revealed! Now you aredetected, now I perceive the meaning of your threat. Because, miserableslave, you cherish the mad hope of beguiling me yourself, you do yourutmost to estrange me from your master. Gula, you say, visited Hermonin his studio, and it may be true. But though I have been at home onlya short time, Tennis is too full of the praises of the heroic Greekwho, at the risk of his own life, rescued a child from Paseth's burninghouse, for the tale not to reach my ears from ten or a dozen differentquarters. Gula is the mother of the little girl whose life was savedby Hermon's bold deed, and perhaps the young mother only knocked at herbenefactor's door to thank him; but you, base defamer--"
"I," Bias continued, maintaining his composure with difficulty, "I sawGula secretly glide into our rooms again and again to permit her child'spreserver to imitate in clay what he considered beautiful. To seek yourlove, as you know, the slave forbade himself, although a man no moreloses tender desires with his freedom than the tree which is encircledby a fence cease
s to put forth buds and blossoms. Eros chooses theslave's heart also as the target for his arrows; but his aim at yourswas better than at mine. Now I know how deeply he wounds, and so, assoon as yonder ship in the harbour bears our visitor away again, I shallsee you, Schalit's daughter, Ledscha, standing before Hermon's modellingtable and behold him scan your beauty to determine what seems worthcopying."
The Biamite, panting for breath, had listened to the end. Then, raisingher little clinched hand menacingly, she muttered through her set teeth:"Let him try even to touch my veil with his fingers! If I had not beenobliged to go away, this would not have happened to my Taus and lucklessGula."
"Scarcely," replied Bias calmly. "If the chicken runs into the water,the hen can not save it. For the rest--I grew up as a boy in freedomwith the husband of your sister, who summoned you to her aid. Hisfather's brick-kiln was next to our papyrus plantation. Then we faredlike so many others--the great devour the small, the just cause isthe lost one, and the gods are like men. My father, who drew thesword against oppression and violence, was robbed of liberty, and yourbrother-in-law, in payment for his honest courage, met an early death.Is the story which is told of you here true? I heard that soon after thepoor fellow's burial the slaves in the brick-kiln refused to obey hiswidow. There were a dozen rebellious brick-moulders, and you--one canforgive you much for it--you, the weak girl----"
"I am not weak," interrupted Ledscha proudly. "I could have taught threetimes twelve of the scoundrels who was master. Now they obey my sister,and yet I wish I had stayed in Tennis. Our Taus," she continued in amore gentle tone, "is still so young, and our mother died when she wasa little child; but I, fool, who should have warned her, left her alone,and if she yielded to Hermon's temptations the fault is mine, whollymine."
During this outburst the light of the fire, which old Tabus had fed withfresh straw and dry rushes, fell upon the face of the agitated girl. Itrevealed her thoughts plainly enough, and, pleased with the success ofhis warning, Bias exclaimed: "And Ledscha, you, too, will not grant himthat from which you would so gladly have withheld your sister. So I willgo and tell my master that you refuse to give him another appointment."
He had confidently expected an assent, and therefore started indignantlyat her exclamation: "I intend to do just the contrary." Yet she eagerlyadded, as if in explanation: "He must give me an account of himself, nomatter where, and, since it can not be to-day, to-morrow at latest."
The slave, disappointed and anxious, now tried to make her understandhow foolish and hard to accomplish her wish was, but she obstinatelyinsisted upon having her own way.
Bias angrily turned his back upon her and, in the early light of themoon, walked toward the shore, but she hastened after him, seized hisarm and, with imperious firmness, commanded: "You will stay! I mustfirst know whether Hermon really means to leave Tennis so soon."
"That was his intention early this morning," replied the other,releasing himself from her grasp. "What are we to do here longer, nowthat his work is as good as finished?"
"But when is he going?" she urged with increased eagerness.
"Day after to-morrow," was the reply, "in five, or perhaps even in sixdays, just as it suits him. Usually we do not even know to-day whatis to be done to-morrow. So long as the Alexandrian remains, he willscarcely leave her, or Myrtilus either. Probably she will take bothhunting with her, for, though a kind, fair-minded woman, she loves thechase, and as both have finished their work, they probably will not bereluctant to go with Daphne."
He stepped into the boat as he spoke, but Ledscha again detained him,asking impatiently: "And 'the work,' as you call it? It was coveredwith a cloth when I visited the studio, but Hermon himself termed it thestatue of a goddess. Yet what it represents--Does it look like my sisterTaus--enough like her, I mean, to be recognised?"
A half-compassionate, half-mocking smile flitted over the Biamite'scopper-coloured visage, and in a tone of patronizing instruction assumedby the better informed, he began: "You are thinking of the face? Why no,child! What that requires can be found in the countenance of no Biamite,hardly even in yours, the fairest of all."
"And the goddess's figure?" asked Ledscha eagerly.
"For that he first used as a model the fair-haired Heliodora, whomhe summoned from Alexandria, and as the wild cat could endure theloneliness only a fortnight, the sisters Nico and Pagis came together.But Tennis was too quiet for them too. The rabble can only be contentedamong those of their own sort in the capital. But the great preliminarywork was already finished before we left Alexandria."
"And Gula--my sister?"
"They were not used for the Demeter," said the slave, smiling. "Justthink, that slender scarcely grown creature, Taus, and the matronlypatroness of marriage. And Gula? True, her little round face is freshand not ill-looking--but the model of a goddess requires something more.That can only be obtained in Alexandria. What do not the women there dofor the care of the body! They learn it in the Aphrodision, as the boysstudy reading and writing. But you! What do you here know even aboutcolouring the eyelids and the lips, curling the hair, and treating thenails on the hands and feet? And the clothes! You let them hang just asyou put them on, and my master's work is full of folds and little linesin the robe and the peplos--But I have staid too long already. Do youreally insist upon meeting Hermon again?
"I will and must see him," she eagerly declared.
"Well, then," he answered harshly. "But if you cast my warning to thewinds, pity will also fly away with it."
"I do not need it," the girl retorted in a contemptuous tone.
"Then let Fate take its course," said the slave, shrugging his shouldersregretfully. "My master shall learn what you wish. I shall remain athome until the market is empty. There are plenty of servants at yourfarm. Your messenger shall bring you Hermon's answer."
"I will come myself and wait for it under the acacia," she criedhastily, and went toward the house, but this time it was Bias who calledher back.
Ledscha reluctantly fulfilled his wish, but she soon regretted it, forthough what he had to say was doubtless kindly meant, it contained afresh and severe offence: the slave represented to her the possibilitythat, so long as the daughter of Archias remained his guest, Hermonmight rebuff her like a troublesome beggar.
Then, as if sure of her cause, she indignantly cut short his words: "Youmeasure him according to your own standard, and do not know what dependsupon it for us. Remind him of the full moon on the coming night and,though ten Alexandrians detained him, he would escape from them to hearwhat I bring him."
With these words Ledscha again turned her back upon him, but Bias, witha low imprecation, pushed the boat from the shore and rowed toward thecity.