CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
THEIR FIRST DAY IN ULUA.
With the rising of the sun on the following morning, the camp became ascene of bustling activity, the soldiers grooming, feeding, and wateringtheir horses, while a little army of servitors bestirred themselves inthe kindling of fires and the preparation of a meal, prior, as the twowhite men surmised, to a start for the city.
Whatever might be the climatic conditions in the valley later on in theday, the early morning air was fresh, cool, and fragrant, with themingled odours of rich pastures, luxuriant cornfields, orchards, andgardens, brilliant with many-hued flowers.
As Earle and Dick emerged from their tent, fresh and buoyant after asound night's sleep, the troopers, very lightly clad, were mountingtheir horses, bare-backed, with the evident intention of taking theanimals down to the lake; and the idea occurred to Dick and Earlesimultaneously, that there was nothing in the world they so ardentlydesired at that moment as a dip in the lake, which, gently ruffled bythe lightest and most balmy of zephyrs, lay shimmering invitingly in thesunshine some two miles away. With one accord, therefore, they advancedtoward where the horsemen, now mounted, awaited the word of command tomarch. Most of the troopers had only their own individual horses tolook after, but there were some twenty or so who were each also incharge of a led horse, and walking up to a couple of these, the twowhite men took from the somewhat surprised but submissive soldiers ahorse apiece, and vaulting upon the animals' bare backs, lined upalongside the officer in command, who received them with a respectfulsalute. Half an hour later, Dick and Earle were sporting in the lakelike a couple of mermen, to the amazement and admiration of the Uluans,not one of whom appeared to possess the most elementary knowledge ofswimming. The temperature of the water was just right to render a swimboth invigorating and enjoyable, and when at length the two friendsreturned to camp, they were in excellent form to do justice to thebreakfast which they found awaiting them.
The journey from the foot of the cliff road where the camp had beenpitched, round the south-eastern extremity of the lake and so to thecity, was taken at an easy pace, to spare the cattle which drew the campcarts, in which room had been found for Earle's impedimenta as well asfor a few of the Indians, while those not so accommodated made nodifficulty of running or walking beside the carts. The journey wasdevoid of incident, but the ride was an exceedingly pleasant one, sincethe road wound its way for the whole distance through fields andorchards, the flourishing condition of which bore eloquent testimony tothe richness of the soil and the agricultural skill of the inhabitants.Here and there farms were passed which were devoted to the raising ofhorses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and the splendid condition of theanimals was a source of constant admiration to the two white men.
The city was reached about noon, but long before then the strangers hadbegun to realise the splendour and magnificence of it. A peculiarity ofit was that it had no suburbs, the farm lands coming right up to thegardens of the outermost houses of the city, which clustered as thicklyon its outskirts as in its heart. A further peculiarity was that therewere no rows of houses; each was completely detached and stood in itsown grounds, the only difference being that some of the buildings werelarger, more ornate, and had more extensive gardens than others. Thebuildings, though by no means overloaded with ornament, were exceedinglyhandsome in a quiet, chaste style, which Earle said reminded him veryforcibly of certain Pompeiian houses; much of the ornamentationconsisting of painted designs upon the white walls. All the housesappeared to be flat-roofed, and many of them had gardens on the roofs,the shrubs and trees showing over the low parapets. Others were coveredwith gay awnings, beneath which some of the occupants could be seentaking their ease in hammocks. The Uluans appeared to be passionatelyfond of flowers, the gardens being full of them, while their conditionevidenced the care with which they were tended. Fountains, too,abounded, some of those adorning the public squares being of verycurious and elaborate design. The streets were very wide, few beingless than a hundred feet in width, while some were considerably wider,with narrow strips of garden running down the centre, full of the mostexquisite flowers interspersed with umbrageous trees. Trees alsoovershadowed the rather narrow sidewalks.
Ulua, however, was by no means a city devoted exclusively to luxury.There was evidently a considerable amount of business done there also,for some of the streets were occupied entirely by shops, though who,except the inhabitants, patronised them, was a question, since all theindications pointed to the fact that there was no trade done with theoutside world. The commodities exposed for sale seemed to consistmainly of fruit, vegetables, flowers, confectionery, what looked likebread in various fanciful shapes, embroideries, jewellery, silks, softwoollen materials, paintings, lamps and lanterns, harness, and othergoods too numerous to mention.
What surprised the visitors most of all, perhaps, in this wonderful citywas the extraordinarily lavish use made of gold; to them it appearedthat everything that could possibly be made of gold was of that metal;and it was not until some time afterwards that they learned that goldwas the most common of the metals with the Uluans, who valued it onlybecause of its untarnishability and beauty of colour.
The wider thoroughfares, squares, and the spacious public gardensthrough which the cavalcade passed contained a fair number of people,although the visitors discovered, later on, that this was the hour whenmost of the inhabitants who were not called abroad by business preferredto remain in the seclusion of their own houses and gardens, this beingthe hottest hour of the day. Naturally, Earle and Dick regarded withsome curiosity the people who paused to regard them as they passed, andthey came to the conclusion that, on the whole, the Uluans were adistinctly attractive-looking people, the women especially remindingEarle of the Italians, not only as regarded the regularity of theirfeatures, but also in the grace of their form and carriage.
At length the cavalcade came to a halt in a spacious and beautifulsquare, situated, as the visitors judged, in about the centre of thecity. One side of this square was entirely occupied by an enormous,lofty, and handsome building, the central portion of which wassurmounted by an immense dome, covered with plates of gold, arranged intiers or bands of different shapes among which that of the lozenge wasthe most conspicuous, while each corner of the building was crowned witha smaller dome, similarly covered and ornamented. Each of the fivedomes bore on its summit, as a sort of finial, the figure of a wingedserpent, half of its body being arranged in a coil, while the otherhalf, with outstretched wings, was upreared in a graceful curve. Asimilar figure crowned a large and beautiful fountain which occupied thecentre of the square, and it was noticeable that every individual whopassed this figure halted and bowed profoundly to it, from which the twowhite men inferred that the winged serpent was a sacred symbol,evidently held in the highest veneration. This surmise ultimatelyproved to be correct, the winged serpent being the figure of the Uluangod Kuhlacan, who was believed to dwell at the bottom of the lake, inits centre, and at whose annual festival sacrifices of jewels of immensevalue were made by casting them with much ceremony into the lake, fromrichly decorated boats. The building with the five golden domes was, ofcourse, the temple, sacred to Kuhlacan, in which the god was dailyworshipped. Earle, whose aesthetic sense was stirred by the beauty ofthe fountain and the wonderful workmanship of the figure surmounting it,directed Dick's particular attention to it and descanted at some lengthupon the taste of the design; and Dick, while listening to hiscompanion, could not fail to observe that Acor, the officer in charge ofthe escort, as well as the members of the escort, and indeed all whowere gathered in the square at the moment, regarded Earle intently, withan expression of mingled wonder and satisfaction. Acor waitedrespectfully while Earle was speaking and, when the latter had finished,gave the order to dismount.
At a signal from one of the officers, two troopers advanced and tookcharge of the horses which Earle and Dick had been riding, and thenAcor, bowing respectfully to the pair, invited them by word and gestureto f
ollow him into a building on the opposite side of the square fromthe temple.
This building, which, like the temple, occupied an entire side of thesquare, was much more elaborate, from an architectural point of viewthan the sacred edifice, the design of which was chaste, majestic, andrather severe, while its _vis-a-vis_--which proved to be the royalpalace--was ornate and decorative in effect. It consisted of an immenseblock of buildings, arranged in the form of a hollow square enclosing amagnificent garden, adorned with many beautiful fountains and statues,access to which was gained through a wide and lofty archway closed by apair of immense and beautiful gates, modelled apparently in bronze, thearchway and gates being so treated as to form a distinctive feature inthe general design of the building.
As Acor and his two companions approached the archway the great gatesswung open, actuated by some unseen agency, and the trio passed through,saluted, as they went, by the two impassive sentries who stood on guard.
Wheeling sharply round to the left as soon as they had passed throughthe archway, Acor conducted his charges along a wide pathway paved withslabs of variegated marble, until they reached a lofty doorway, enteringwhich, Earle and Dick found themselves in a spacious lofty hall, thetemperature of which was delightfully cool compared with the blazingsunshine outside. They appeared to be expected, for upon theirentrance, a little group of men, whose rich attire seemed to proclaimthem palace officials, came forward and bowing low, were introduced byAcor, who simply pointed to each man and pronounced his name. Thisdone, the captain of the guard gravely and respectfully saluted hischarges and retired, leaving them in the hands of the little group ofsupposed officials.
One of these, an elderly man of very dignified mien and presence, whomAcor had named Bahrim, and who afterward turned out to be the major-domoof the palace, at once stepped forward and with a low bow, signed thetwo white men to follow him. He led the way to one side of the hall,where a noble staircase of elaborately sculptured marble swept upward toa wide gallery running round three of the walls, and ascending this,Earle and Dick were presently inducted into a suite of three lofty andluxurious rooms, two of which were furnished as sleeping-chambers, whilethe third, lighted by two lofty window openings, shaded by sun blinds,looked out over the garden. The rooms were all most sumptuouslyfurnished, the furniture, of quaint but graceful design, being made, forthe most part, of rare and beautiful woods, richly carved. In each ofthe sleeping-chambers there was a large marble bath, already filled withwater, and on each of the couches was set out a change of apparel.
With a wave of the hand, Bahrim indicated the rooms and their contentsgenerally, and said a few words, from the tone of which Earle judged himto be asking whether they were satisfactory; for when Earle carelesslynodded an affirmative, Bahrim smiled, as though with gratification, andclapped his hands. This proved to be a summons to two attendants, whoinstantly entered and made their obeisances to the white men. TheseBahrim introduced by the simple process of pointing to one and saying,"Shan," and to the other, saying, "Raba."
"Thanks," said Earle; "that will do nicely." Then, as Bahrimrespectfully bowed himself out, the American turned to his friend andremarked:
"Say, Dick, how is this for high? Some lodging, this. What? I wonderhow long it is to lunch time? That ride has proved a fine appetiser inmy case. But those baths look good. Guess I'll have a dip now. Isuppose these two guys are to be our servants. Which one will youhave?"
"Oh," answered Dick, "either of them will do for me. They both lookreasonably decent chaps. Take your choice."
"Right!" said Earle. "Then I guess I'll have Shan, because I think hisname is the easiest to remember. Come along, Shan, and help me to getout of these togs. I'm going to have a bath. See?"
Shan apparently saw, which indeed was not difficult, since Earle pointedtoward the bath as he spoke. The man bowed and turned to help Earle ridhimself of his clothes, while Dick, beckoning to Raba, retired to theother sleeping-chamber, and a few minutes later was also luxuriating inthe coolness of the bath.
Refreshed by their dip and a delicious luncheon, the two friends wereseated in the deep embrasure of one of the unglazed windows of theirsitting-room, Earle lazily smoking as he and Dick discussed theadvisability of sallying forth, a little later, to learn the geographyof the town, when they were interrupted by the appearance of Bahrim, themajor-domo, accompanied by two other men, whom he introducedrespectively as Zorah and Kedah.
The former was a tall, thin, ascetic-looking man of probably sixty orsixty-five years of age. He had doubtless been, in his prime, anexceedingly handsome man, for, even now, his features were well modelledand clean cut, but his sallow skin was deeply wrinkled about theforehead, eyes, and the wings of his nostrils--his mouth and chin werehidden by a thick moustache and long, straggling grey, almost whitebeard. A few thin wisps of long white hair escaped from the back partof the turban which covered his head, and fell to the level of hisshoulders. But perhaps the most striking feature of him after his thin,hawk-like nose, was his eyes, which were large, black and piercing. Hewas attired in a dress which was a replica in every respect of thatwhich had been provided for Earle, and his carriage, as he entered theapartment, was assured, haughty, almost arrogant, that of a man of highand assured position who possessed a profound faith in himself.
He bowed to Earle with a gesture of restrained humility which contrastedoddly with the hauteur of his expression, and striding up to theAmerican, laid his two thin, talon-like hands upon the other'sshoulders, and turned him round until Earle fully faced the light.Then, bending forward, he intently scrutinised the queer jewel, ortalisman, which Earle now wore fully exposed to view. And as he did so,the expression of almost defiant pride which his features had worn uponhis entrance, gradually relaxed until it vanished and gave place to oneof humble conviction. Then, laying the extremities of his fingers tohis forehead, he bowed very low and backing away from Earle, graduallybowing himself out of the chamber.
Meanwhile, the other man, Kedah, had stood, a profoundly interested andimpressed spectator of the short scene. He, too, was an elderly man,short, rather inclined to be stout, and bald-headed save for two thicktufts of white hair that sprouted over his ears. He was attired verymuch like Earle, except that the garniture of his robe was emeraldgreen, instead of turquoise blue; also, instead of a turban, he usuallywore a small, close-fitting skull cap of green silk, which he hadremoved upon entering the apartment. In one hand he carried, as well ashis skull cap, a rather clumsy-looking umbrella of green silk, modelledsomewhat after the pattern of the Japanese article, while the other handgrasped a roll of what looked like thin parchment.
Upon the departure of Zorah, Kedah laid aside his umbrella and skull capand, respectfully motioning the two white men to be seated, drew forwarda small table, upon which he unrolled the parchment, revealing the factthat its inner surface was covered with small but beautifully executeddrawings of a multitude of objects, such as men, women, boys, girls,infants, horses, cattle, sheep, etc. To several of these he pointed inturn, giving each its proper designation in the Uluan tongue, making hispupils--for such they were--repeat the words several times after himuntil they had caught the correct accent. Then, after he had named sometwenty objects, he harked back to the beginning again, pointing to eachobject and then, by expressive motions of his hands and bushy eyebrows,requiring them to repeat as many of the names as they could remember.In this fashion they proceeded for about an hour and a half, by whichtime the two white men had mastered the designations of some fiftyobjects and were enabled to repeat them when pointed at haphazard.Kedah graciously expressed his satisfaction at their progress in a flowof words accompanied by so much action and spoken in such a tone thatthere was little difficulty in understanding his general meaning. Thissystem of tuition was continued day after day, accompanied by a gradualextension of the hours of study, and, after the first week, by theintroduction of short sentences, such as: "This is a table. That is apicture. There is a man. Yonder go a woman
and child. Observe thatcrowd of people," and so on, the sentences gradually lengthening andbecoming more intricate, so that by the end of two months, Kedah'spupils were not only able to gather the general sense of most of whatwas said to them, but also intelligibly to ask for almost anything theyrequired.
Meanwhile, during the progress of that first lesson, certain muffledexclamations, accompanied by the sounds of heavy breathing and scufflingfeet, reached the ears of the pupils from the adjoining apartments; andwhen, upon the conclusion of the lesson they entered those apartments,Dick and Earle had the satisfaction of finding that all their belongingshad been brought up and were neatly stowed away; also that Inaguy andMoquit, two of their Indian followers, had been added to their staff ofservants. And from these men they also received the satisfactoryinformation that the rest of the Indians were lodged together and beingwell cared for in a chamber beneath the palace.
The afternoon was by this time so far advanced that the two white menfelt they might safely venture to sally forth and see something of thecity, without much fear of being unduly incommoded by the heat, and theywere also curious to ascertain how far they were free agents to come andgo as they pleased; they resolved, therefore, to put the matter to thetest without further ado. Accordingly, each thrusting a pair of fullyloaded automatics into his belt, as a measure of precaution againstpossible contingencies, they left their apartments and, descending thestairs, made their way to the garden quadrangle, from whence theypassed, without interference, into the grand square, receiving thesalute of the sentry at the gates as they went.
The temple, situate on the opposite side of the square, was naturallythe first object to claim their attention, and observing that its greatmain entrance doors stood wide open, the pair sauntered across thesquare, reverentially saluted as they went by everyone they met, andpassing up the long flight of steps leading to the open doorway, theyboldly entered the building.
It was a magnificent structure, the rich and lavish ornamentation of itsinterior making ample amends for the severity of its exterior design.The four corners of the building were occupied by spacious rooms, orpossibly subsidiary chapels, the doors of which were closed, but themain or principal temple was open, and into this the two friends boldlymade their way, Earle declaring to Dick that he was determined to put tothe test the exact measure of independence and power which thepossession of the talisman conferred upon him, which he believed to bealmost supreme, judging by the extraordinary reverence and venerationwith which it had thus far been regarded by the Uluans.
The main temple was far and away the most spacious interior which eitherof them had thus far seen, Earle, after running his eye over it,expressing the opinion that its floor would accommodate at least twentythousand persons comfortably. It was rectangular in shape, its longestdimension running east and west. Its main walls were about sixty feethigh, tinted turquoise blue--as was the ceiling--with decorative designsin white. It was lighted by windows in the sides, fitted with slatsinstead of glass, so carefully adjusted that while admitting asufficiency of light--when one's eyes became accustomed to thesemi-obscurity--they effectually excluded rain. The centre of theceiling was pierced by a circular aperture about one hundred feet indiameter, above which rose the majestic dome which, from the outside,had already attracted their admiring attention. This dome was supportedby four enormous columns connected by arches, and its interior, whileshrouded in gloom, was a mass of subdued scintillating colour, as thoughit were encrusted with innumerable gems and glowing enamels. Theeastern wall of the interior was remarkable from the circumstance thatit bore a gigantic replica of the jewel, or talisman, which Earle wore--a fact which finally and definitely confirmed the conviction alreadyarrived at by the American that the possession of the ornament conferredupon him almost supernatural powers and authority. At a distance ofsome twenty feet from this eastern wall there was an immense figure--orstatue--of the Winged Serpent, reproduced in the middle of the squareand on the domes of the temple, and before it stood a very large altarwhich bore evidences that sacrifices were continually offered upon it.
Upon entering the building the two friends were under the impressionthat it was empty; but they had scarcely been in it ten minutes, andwere standing before the altar, studying the marvellous modelling of theWinged Serpent, when a strain of music smote upon their ears, and thenext moment a curtain parted and a company of priests, some sixty innumber, of whom about a third were playing upon quaint-looking musicalinstruments, filed into the building, headed by Zorah, theiracquaintance of an hour or two earlier. Advancing with slow and solemnsteps they halted before the two friends and, after bowing profoundly toEarle, broke into a slow and solemn chant, which gradually changed intoa kind of triumphal hymn, at the conclusion of which they again boweduntil their foreheads almost touched the pavement, and then filed outagain.
The two white men, completely taken aback by the solemnity andunexpectedness of this apparently impromptu ceremony, knew not what todo, and therefore did nothing, which, as afterwards transpired, was thewisest course they could possibly have adopted. For, although they werequite unaware of it at the moment, their every movement was beingcarefully watched, and when they entered the temple, Zorah, the highpriest, was instantly informed of the fact; whereupon he marshalled hissubordinate priests and carried out the ceremony above recorded, inorder to do honour to the individual who, in virtue of his possession ofthe mysterious jewel bearing the "sign" of Kuhlacan, the Winged Serpent,was implicitly believed to be either Kuhlacan's special ambassador tothe Uluans, or, possibly, a human incarnation of Kuhlacan himself. Theceremony brought home a vague inkling of this state of affairs to bothof the individuals most intimately concerned, and Earle, whileexpressing some embarrassment and dislike of the position in which hefound himself placed, announced to Dick his determination to accept it,in the hope and belief that, before leaving Ulua, it might be his goodfortune to wield the authority with which he was endowed for the benefitand advantage of the people, and quite possibly, the correction ofabuses.
Leaving the temple, the two friends passed out of the square and entereda road which attracted them because of its extraordinary width, themagnificence of its shade trees, the beauty of its central strip ofgarden, the sumptuous character of its buildings, and the air of dignityand well-being which seemed to characterise the people who werepromenading it. Taken altogether, it appeared to be Ulua's mostaristocratic quarter, or at least its most fashionable promenade, forthe men and women who thronged it were all elegantly dressed, and allhad the air of belonging to the leisured class, while the roadway wasthickly sprinkled with elegant and beautifully decorated chariots, drawnby teams of two, or sometimes three, handsome horses, driven by youngmen who appeared to be inviting the admiration of Ulua's fair ones.
Still unobtrusively followed by a palace official, the two friendswended their way down the street, receiving the respectful homage of allwho passed them. They had traversed about half the length of thestreet, which was about two miles long, when suddenly loud and excitedcries arose behind them, punctuated by the quick clatter of gallopinghoofs, and wheeling round, they beheld a beautiful chariot, the body,wheels, and pole of which were entirely covered with plates of embossedgold, coming careering along the road toward them at full speed, andswerving wildly from side to side of the road as it came, the two creamstallions which drew it having evidently bolted.
The man who drove was doing his best to regain control of his terrifiedand mettlesome animals, and at the same time to avoid the chariots aheadof him, the drivers of which hurriedly drew in towards the sides of theroad to give the runaways a free passage; but the lad--for he wasapparently still in his teens--might as well have attempted to controlthe elements; the horses had got their heads and seemed determined notto stop until they were tired, while it was evident that a very seriousaccident was inevitable, the road being thronged with vehicles, horsemenand pedestrians--the latter seeming to use the roadway quite as much asthe footpaths.
An
d even as Dick and Earle halted and turned to ascertain the cause ofthe commotion, the wildly careering chariot collided with another, awheel of which it sheared off, while the impact of the two vehiclesjolted the driver of the runaways off his feet and flung him violentlyinto the road, where he lay motionless.
"Good heavens!" exclaimed Dick, as the two creams came tearing along,with the reins trailing in the roadway, "the brutes will not only killthemselves, but dozens of people as well, if they are not stopped!" Andbefore Earle could reply, or do anything to restrain him, the lad spranginto the roadway, close to the path of the runaways, and braced himselffor a spring. The next instant the frantic horses were upon him; butmeanwhile, with a leap, Dick had started to run in the same direction asthe horses, and as they tore past, with one hand he snatched at thereins and got them, while with the other, he gripped the rear of thechariot and swung himself into it. Then, gripping the reins with a firmhand, and shouting all the time to warn those ahead, he brought a steadystrain to bear upon the horses' mouths, guiding them meanwhile as besthe could. And almost immediately his pull upon the reins began to tell,for his thews and sinews, hardened and tempered to the strength of steelby his long tramp from the banks of the Amazon, were very different fromthose of the effeminate youth who had been thrown out; and aftertraversing a couple of hundred yards, the animals acknowledgedthemselves beaten and came to a standstill without having done furtherdamage. Then, turning the sweat-lathered animals gently round, Dickdrove them at a foot pace, snorting and curvetting, back to the spotwhere the owner, still insensible, lay upon the footpath, being tendedby sympathisers, of whom Earle was one. As Dick came up and dismountedfrom the chariot, which he surrendered to an official, he was greetedwith loud plaudits, the people clapping their hands and shouting "Aha!aha!"
They made way for him as he came up and joined Earle, who was alreadybending over the insensible charioteer, feeling the youth's body andlimbs.
"Any damage done?" he inquired, as he came to a stand and looked down onhis friend.
"Hillo! you back?" returned Earle. "You've soon done the trick, Dick.Did you manage to stop 'em without hurting anybody else?"
"Yes, luckily," answered Dick. "Pulled 'em up, and brought 'em backagain. They're in the road there, now, in charge of a fellow who, Isuppose, is a sort of policeman. Is that dude hurt at all?"
"Left arm broken; but that seems to be the full extent of the damage,"answered Earle. "If I could get a couple of sticks and a bandage, I'dset it while he is still insensible. Just see if you can find anythingthat will do, Dick, there's a good chap."
Dick looked about him, but could see nothing at all suitable until hisgaze happened to fall upon the window of a house opposite him, which wasclosed by a kind of jalousie shutter. A couple of slats from thisshutter would serve excellently, and without ceremony he wrenched two ofthem out and, breaking them into suitable lengths, handed them to Earle.Then, while the latter brought the ends of the fractured bone intoposition and held them there, Dick adjusted the splints, as directed byEarle, afterwards assisted by a bystander, binding them firmly intoposition with the folds of his turban, which he unwound for the purpose.
By the time that this was done the friends of the injured man had beensummoned and were on the spot; and to them Earle handed over hispatient, directing them by signs what to do, after which the two friendsreturned to the palace, amid the admiring murmurs of all whom theyencountered.