CHAPTER IX. THE CAGES.
Morok had prepared himself. Over his deer-skin vest he had drawnthe coat of mail--that steel tissue, as pliable as cloth, as hard asdiamonds; next, clothing his arms and legs in their proper armor,and his feet in iron-bound buskins, and concealing all this defensiveequipment under loose trousers and an ample pelisse carefully buttoned,he took in his hand a long bar of iron, white-hot, set in a woodenhandle.
Though long ago daunted by the skill and energy of the Prophet, histiger Cain, his lion Judas, and his black panther Death, had sometimesattempted, in a moment of rebellion, to try their fangs and claws onhis person; but, thanks to the armor concealed beneath his pelisse, theyblunted their claws upon a skin of steel, and notched their fangs uponarms or legs of iron, whilst a slight touch of their master's metallicwand left a deep furrow in their smoking, shrivelled flesh.
Finding the inutility of their efforts, and endowed with strong memory,the beasts soon learned that their teeth and claws were powerlesswhen directed against this invulnerable being. Hence, their terrifiedsubmission reached to such a point that, in his public representations,their master could make them crouch and cower at his feet by the leastmovement of a little wand covered with flame-colored paper.
The Prophet, thus armed with care, and holding in his hand the iron madehot by Goliath, descended by the trapdoor of the loft into the largeshed beneath, in which were deposited the cages of his animals. A merewooden partition separated this shed from the stable that contained hishorses.
A lantern, with a reflector, threw a vivid light on the cages. They werefour in number. A wide iron grating formed their sides, turning at oneend upon hinges like a door, so as to give ingress to the animal; thebottom of each den rested on two axle-trees and four small iron castors,so that they could easily be removed to the large covered wagon in whichthey were placed during a journey. One of them was empty; the otherthree contained, as already intimated, a panther, a tiger, and a lion.
The panther, originally from Java, seemed to merit the gloomy nameof Death, by her grim, ferocious aspect. Completely black, she laycrouching and rolled up in the bottom of her cage, and her dark huesmingling with the obscurity which surrounded her, nothing was distinctlyvisible but fixed and glaring eyes--yellow balls of phosphoric light,which only kindled, as it were, in the night-time; for it is the natureof all the animals of the feline species to enjoy entire clearness ofvision but in darkness.
The Prophet entered the stable in silence: the dark red of his longpelisse contrasted with the pale yellow of his straight hair and beard;the lantern, placed at some height above the ground, threw its rays fullupon this man, and the strong light, opposed to the deep shadows aroundit, gave effect to the sharp proportions of his bony and savage lookingfigure.
He approached the cage slowly. The white rim, which encircled hiseyeball, appeared to dilate, and his look rivaled in motionlessbrilliancy the steadily sparkling gaze of the panther. Still crouchingin the shade, she felt already the fascination of that glance; twoor three times she dropped her eyelids, with a low, angry howl; then,reopening her eyes, as if in spite of herself, she kept them fastenedimmovably on those of the Prophet. And now her rounded ears clung toher skull, which was flattened like a viper's; the skin of her foreheadbecame convulsively wrinkled; she drew in her bristling, but silkymuzzle, and twice silently opened her jaws, garnished with formidablefangs. From that moment a kind of magnetic connection seemed to beestablished between the man and the beast.
The Prophet extended his glowing bar towards the cage, and said, in asharp, imperious tone: "Death! come here."
The panther rose, but so dragged herself along that her belly and thebend of her legs touched the ground. She was three feet high, and nearlyfive in length; her elastic and fleshy spine, the sinews of her thighsas well developed as those of a race-horse, her deep chest, her enormousjutting shoulders, the nerve and muscle in her short, thick paws--allannounced that this terrible animal united vigor with suppleness, andstrength with agility.
Morok, with his iron wand still extended in the direction of the cage,made a step towards the panther. The panther made a stride towards theProphet. Morok stopped; Death stopped also.
At this moment the tiger, Judas, to whom Morok's back was turned,bounded violently in his cage, as if jealous of the attention, which hismaster paid to the panther. He growled hoarsely, and, raising his head,showed the under-part of his redoubtable triangular jaw, and his broadchest of a dirty white, with which blended the copper color, streakedwith black, of his sides; his tail, like a huge red serpent, with ringsof ebony, now clung to his flanks, now lashed them with a slow andcontinuous movement: his eyes, of a transparent, brilliant green, werefixed upon the Prophet.
Such was the influence of this man over his animals, that Judas almostimmediately ceased growling, as if frightened at his own temerity; buthis respiration continued loud and deep. Morok turned his face towardshim, and examined him very attentively during some seconds. The panther,no longer subject to the influence of her master's look, slunk back tocrouch in the shade.
A sharp cracking, in sudden breaks, like that which great animals makein gnawing hard substances, was now heard from the cage of the lion.It drew the attention of the Prophet, who, leaving the tiger, advancedtowards the other den.
Nothing could be seen of the lion but his monstrous croup of a reddishyellow. His thighs were gathered under him, and his thick mane servedentirely to conceal his head. But by the tension and movement of themuscles of his loins, and the curving of his backbone, it was easy toperceive that he was making violent efforts with his throat and hisforepaws. The Prophet approached the cage with same uneasiness, fearingthat, notwithstanding his orders, Goliath had given the lion some bonesto gnaw. To assure himself of it, he said in a quick and firm voice:"Cain!"
The lion did not change his position.
"Cain! come here!" repeated Morok in a louder tone. The appeal wasuseless; the lion did not move, and the noise continued.
"Cain! come here!" said the Prophet a third time; but, as he pronouncedthese words, he applied the end of the glowing bar to the haunch of thelion.
Scarcely did the light track of smoke appear on the reddish hide ofCain, when, with a spring of incredible agility, he turned andthrew himself against the grating, not crouching, but at a singlebound--upright, superb, terrifying. The Prophet being at the angle ofthe cage, Cain, in his fury, had raised himself sideways to face hismaster, and, leaning his huge flank against the bars, thrust betweenthem his enormous fore leg, which, with his swollen muscles, was aslarge as Goliath's thigh.
"Cain! down!" said the Prophet, approaching briskly.
The lion did not obey immediately. His lips, curling with rage,displayed fangs as long, as large, and as pointed as the tusks of a wildboar. But Morok touched those lips with the end of the burning metal;and, as he felt the smart, followed by an unexpected summons of hismaster, the lion, not daring to roar, uttered a hollow growl, and hisgreat body sank down at once in an attitude of submission and fear.
The Prophet took down the lantern to see what Cain had been gnawing. Itwas one of the planks from the floor of his den, which he had succeededin tearing up, and was crunching between his teeth in the extremity ofhis hunger. For a few moments the most profound silence reigned in themenagerie. The Prophet, with his hands behind his back, went from onecage to the other, observing the animals with a restless contemplativelook, as if he hesitated to make between them an important and difficultchoice.
From time to time he listened at the great door of the shed, whichopened on the court-yard of the inn. At length this door turned on itshinges, and Goliath appeared, his clothes dripping with water.
"Well! is it done?" said the Prophet.
"Not without trouble. Luckily, the night is dark, it blows hard, and itpours with rain."
"Then there is no suspicion?"
"None, master. Your information was good. The door of the cellar openson the fields, just under the window of the la
sses. When you whistled tolet me know it was time, I crept out with a stool I had provided; I putit up against the wall, and mounted upon it; with my six feet, that madenine, and I could lean my elbows on the window-ledge; I took the shutterin one hand, and the haft of my knife in the other, and, whilst I broketwo of the panes, I pushed the shutter with all my might."
"And they thought it was the wind?"
"Yes, they thought it was the wind. You see, the 'brute' is not such abrute, after all. That done, I crept back into my cellar, carrying mystool with me. In a little time, I heard the voice of the old man; itwas well I had made haste."
"Yes, when I whistled to you, he had just entered the supper-room. Ithought he would have been longer."
"That man's not built to remain long at supper," said the giant,contemptuously. "Some moments after the panes had been broken, the oldman opened the window, and called his dog, saying: 'Jump out!'--I wentand hid myself at the further end of the cellar, or that infernal dogwould have scented me through the door."
"The dog is now shut up in the stable with the old man's horse."
"Go on!"
"When I heard them close shutter and window, I came out of my cellar,replaced my stool, and again mounted upon it. Unfastening the shutter,I opened it without noise, but the two broken panes were stopped up withthe skirts of a pelisse. I heard talking, but I could see nothing; so Imoved the pelisse a little, and then I could see the two lasses in bedopposite to me, and the old man sitting down with his back to where Istood."
"But the knapsack--the knapsack?--That is the most important."
"The knapsack was near the window, on a table, by the side of a lamp; Icould have reached it by stretching out my arm."
"What did you hear said?"
"As you told me to think only of the knapsack, I can only remember whatconcerns the knapsack. The old man said he had some papers in it--theletter of a general--his money--his cross."
"Good--what next?"
"As it was difficult for me to keep the pelisse away from the hole, itslipped through my fingers. In trying to get hold of it again, I putmy hand too much forward. One of the lasses saw it, and screamed out,pointing to the window."
"Dolt!" exclaimed the Prophet, becoming pale with rage, "you have ruinedall."
"Stop a bit! there is nothing broken yet. When I heard the scream, Ijumped down from my stool, and got back into the cellar; as the dog wasno longer about, I left the door ajar, so that I could hear them openthe window, and see, by the light, that the old man was looking out withthe lamp; but he could find no ladder, and the window was too high forany man of common size to reach it!"
"He will have thought, like the first time, that it was the wind. Youare less awkward than I imagined."
"The wolf has become a fox, as you said. Knowing where the knapsack wasto be found with the money and the papers, and not being able to do morefor the moment, I came away--and here I am."
"Go upstairs and fetch me the longest pike."
"Yes, master."
"And the red blanket."
"Yes, master."
"Go!"
Goliath began to mount the ladder; half-way up he stopped. "Master,"said he, "may I not bring down a bit of meat for Death?--you will seethat she'll bear me malice; she puts it all down to my account; shenever forgets, and on the first occasion--"
"The pike and the cloth!" repeated the Prophet, in an imperious tone.And whilst Goliath, swearing to himself, proceeded to execute hisinstructions, Morok opened the great door of the shed, looked out intothe yard, and listened.
"Here's the pike and the cloth," said the giant, as he descended theladder with the articles. "Now what must I do next?"
"Return to the cellar, mount once more by the window, and when the oldman leaves the room--"
"Who will make him leave the room?"
"Never mind! he will leave it."
"What next?"
"You say the lamp is near the window?"
"Quite near--on the table next to the knapsack."
"Well, then, as soon as the old man leaves the room, push open thewindow, throw down the lamp, and if you accomplish cleverly what remainsto do--the ten florins are yours--you remember it all?"
"Yes, yes."
"The girls will be so frightened by the noise and darkness, that theywill remain dumb with terror."
"Make yourself easy! The wolf turned into a fox; why not a serpent?"
"There is yet something."
"Well, what now?"
"The roof of this shed is not very high, the window of the loft is easyof access, the night is dark--instead of returning by the door--"
"I will come in at the window."
"Ay, and without noise."
"Like a regular snake!" and the giant departed.
"Yes!" said the Prophet to himself, after a long silence, "these meansare sure. It was not for me to hesitate. A blind and obscure instrument,I know not the motives of the orders I have received: but from therecommendations which accompany them--but from the position of him whosends them--immense interests must be involved--interests connected withall that is highest and greatest upon earth!--And yet how can thesetwo girls, almost beggars, how can this wretched soldier represent suchinterests?--No matter," added he, with humility; "I am the arm whichacts--it is for the head, which thinks and orders, to answer for itswork."
Soon after the Prophet left the shed, carrying with him the red cloth,and directed his steps towards the little stable that contained Jovial.The crazy door, imperfectly secured by a latch, was easily opened. Atsight of a stranger Spoil-sport threw himself upon him; but his teethencountered the iron leggings of the Prophet, who, in spite of theefforts of the dog took Jovial by his halter, threw the blanket overhis head to prevent his either seeing or smelling, and led him from thestable into the interior of the menagerie, of which he closed the door.