XXIII
Manuel Gets His Desire
Now the tale tells that all this while, near the gray hut in DunVlechlan, the earthen image of Niafer lay drying out in the Novembersun; and that gray Dom Manuel--no longer the florid boy who had comeinto Dun Vlechlan,--sat at the feet of the image, and played upon aflageolet the air which Suskind had taught him, and with which he hadbeen used to call young Suskind from her twilit places when Manuel was apeasant tending swine. Now Manuel was an aging nobleman, and Niafer wasnow a homeless ghost, but the tune had power over them, none the less,for its burden was young love and the high-hearted time of youth; sothat the melody which once had summoned Suskind from her lowred-pillared palace in the doubtful twilight, now summoned Niaferresistlessly from paradise, as Manuel thriftily made use of the odds andends which he had learned from three women to win him a fourth woman.
The spirit of Niafer entered at the mouth of the image. Instantly thehead sneezed, and said, "I am unhappy." But Manuel kept on playing. Thespirit descended further, bringing life to the lungs and the belly, sothat the image then cried, "I am hungry." But Manuel kept on playing. Sothe soul was drawn further and further, until Manuel saw that the whiteimage had taken on the colors of flesh, and was moving its toes in timeto his playing; and so knew that the entire body was informed with life.
He cast down the flageolet, and touched the breast of the image with theancient formal gestures of the old Tuyla mystery, and he sealed themouth of the image with a kiss, so that the spirit of Niafer wasimprisoned in the image which Manuel had made. Under his lips the lipswhich had been Misery's cried, "I love." And Niafer rose, a living girljust such as Manuel had remembered for more than a whole year: but withthat kiss all memories of paradise and all the traits of angelhooddeparted from her.
"Well, well, dear snip," said Manuel, the first thing of all, "now it iscertainly a comfort to have you back again."
Niafer, even in the rapture of her happiness, found this anunimpassioned greeting from one who had gone to unusual lengths torecover her companionship. Staring, she saw that Manuel had all themarks of a man in middle life, and spoke as became appearances. For itwas at the price of his youth that Manuel had recovered the woman whomhis youth desired: and Misery had subtly evened matters by awarding anaging man the woman for whose sake a lad had fearlessly served Misery.There was no longer any such lad, for the conquered had destroyed theconqueror.
Then, after a moment's consideration of this tall gray stranger, Niaferalso looked graver and older. Niafer asked for a mirror: and Manuel hadnone.
"Now but certainly I must know at once just how faithfully you haveremembered me," says Niafer.
He led the way into the naked and desolate November forest, and theycame to the steel-colored Wolflake hard by the gray hut: and Niaferfound she was limping, for Manuel had not got her legs quite right, sothat for the rest of her second life she was lame. Then Niafer gazed fora minute, or it might be for two minutes, at her reflection in the deepcold waters of the Wolflake.
"Is this as near as you have come to remembering me, my dearest!" shesaid, dejectedly, as she looked down at Manuel's notion of her face. Forthe appearance which Niafer now wore she found to be very little likethat which Niafer remembered as having been hers, in days wherein shehad been tolerably familiar with the Lady Gisele's mirrors; and it was agrief to Niafer to see how utterly the dearest dead go out of mind in nolong while.
"I have forgotten not one line or curve of your features," says Manuel,stoutly, "in all these months, nor in any of these last days that havepassed as years. And when my love spurred me to make your image, Niafer,my love loaned me unwonted cunning. Even by ordinary, they tell me, Ihave some skill at making images: and while not for a moment would Iseem to boast of that skill, and not for worlds would I annoy you byrepeating any of the complimentary things which have been said about myimages,--by persons somewhat more appreciative, my dear, of the toil andcare that goes to work of this sort,--I certainly think that in thisinstance nobody has fair reason to complain."
She looked at his face now: and she noted what the month of living withBeda, with whom a day is as a year, had done to the boy's face which sheremembered. Count Manuel's face was of remodeled stuff: youth had goneout of it, and the month of years had etched wrinkles in it, success hadhardened and caution had pinched and self-complacency had kissed it. AndNiafer sighed again, as they sat reunited under leafless trees by thesteel-colored Wolflake.
"There is no circumventing time and death, then, after all," saidNiafer, "for neither of us is now the person that ascended Vraidex. Nomatter: I love you, Manuel, and I am content with what remains of you:and if the body you have given me is to your will it is to my will."
But now three rascally tall ragged fellows, each blind in one eye, andeach having a thin peaked beard, came into the opening before the grayhut, trampling the dead leaves there as they shouted for Mimir. "Comeout!" they cried: "come out, you miserable Mirmir, and face those threewhom you have wronged!"
Dom Manuel rose from the bank of the Wolflake, and went toward theshouters. "There is no Mimir," he told them, "in Dun Vlechlan, or not atleast in this peculiarly irrational part of the forest."
"You lie," they said, "for even though you have hitched a body to yourhead we recognize you." They looked at Niafer, and all three laughedcruelly. "Was it for this hunched, draggled, mud-faced wench that youleft us, you squinting old villain? And have you so soon forgotten thevintner's parlor at Neogreant, and what you did with the gold plates?"
"No, I have not forgotten these things, for I never knew anything aboutthem," said Manuel.
Said one of the knaves, twirling fiercely his moustachios: "Hah,shameless Mimir, do you look at me, who have known you and your blindson Oriander, too, to be unblushing knaves for these nine centuries!Now, I suppose, you will be denying the affair of the squirrel also?"
"Oh, be off with your nonsense!" says Manuel, "for I have not yet hadtwenty-two years of living, and I never saw you before, and I hope neverto see you again."
But they all set upon him with cutlasses, so there was nothing remainingsave to have out his sword and fight. And when each of these one-eyedpersons had vanished curiously under his death-wound, Manuel told Niaferit was a comfort to find that the month of years had left him a fairswordsman for all that his youth was gone; and that he thought they hadbetter be leaving this part of the high woods of Dun Vlechlan, whereinunaccountable things took place, and all persons behaved unreasonably.
"Were these wood-spirits unreasonable," asks Niafer, "in saying that thecountenance and the body you have given me are ugly?"
"My dear," replied Manuel, "it was their saying that which made me tryto avoid the conflict, because it does not look well, not even indealing with demons, to injure the insane."
"Manuel, and can it be you who are considering appearances?"
Dom Manuel said gravely: "My dealings with Misery and with Misery'skindred have taught me many things which I shall never forget nor verywillingly talk about. One of these teachings, though, is that in mostaffairs there is a middle road on which there is little traffic andcomparatively easy going. I must tell you that the company I have beenin required a great deal of humoring, for of course it is not safe totrifle with any evil principle. No, no, one need not absolutely andopenly defy convention, I perceive, in order to follow after one's ownthinking," says Manuel, shrewdly, and waggling a gray beard.
"I am so glad you have learned that at last! At least, I suppose, I amglad," said Niafer, a little wistfully, as she recalled young Manuel ofthe high head.
"But, as I was saying, I now estimate that these tattered persons whowould have prevented my leaving, as well as the red fellow that wouldhave hindered my entering, this peculiarly irrational part of theforest, were spiritual intruders into Misery's domain whom Misery haddriven out of their wits. No, Niafer, I voice no criticism, because withus two this Misery of earth, whom some call Beda, and others Kruchina,has dealt very handsomely. It troubles me to
suspect that he was alsocalled Mimir; but of this we need not speak, because a thing done has anend, even a killed grandfather. Nevertheless, I think that Dun Vlechlanis unwholesome, and I am of the opinion that you and I will be morecomfortable elsewhere."
"But must we go back to looking after pigs, dear Manuel, or are you nowtoo old for that?"
Dom Manuel smiled, and you saw that he retained at least his formerlordliness. "No, now that every obligation is lifted, and we arereunited, dear snip, I can at last go traveling everywhither, so that Imay see the ends of this world and judge them. And we will do whateverelse we choose, for, as I must tell you, I am now a nobleman withlackeys and meadowlands and castles of my own, if only I could obtainpossession of them."
"This is excellent hearing," said Niafer, "and much better thanpig-stealing, and I am glad that the world has had sense enough toappreciate you, Manuel, and you it. And we will have rubies in mycoronet, because I always fancied them. Now do you tell me how it allhappened, and what I am to be called countess of. And we will talk aboutthat traveling later, for I have already traveled a great distancetoday, but we must certainly have rubies."