CHAPTER IX
_Hero and Nuova once more, and the Great Courting Chase_
"My brave little Nuova," said Saggia, joyfully and tenderly. And Beffahopped happily about, singing softly to her:
"For a new bee A new way; From nurse to warrior All in a day. What's for to-morrow? Who can say? For the newest bee, The newest way."
The other bees about her were all talking confusedly together. "Shesaved our stores! Who is she?" they cried. "She is Nuova, the nurse!Nuova, the wax-maker! She is Nuova, the honey-gatherer! She was not evenan Amazon! Is she hurt? She is killed! She is wounded! What a bravebee!"
Hero had said nothing yet, but now, as he leaned over her with his faceclose to hers and her eyes opened slowly, he murmured tenderly, "LittleNuova!"
Nuova looked languidly up at him and around at Saggia and Beffa; thenclosed her eyes again with a weak but happy smile, and spoke in a low,trembling voice: "She struck me, but I hit her back; I hit her harder."
"You killed her, Nuova," broke in Hero, proudly. "You were wonderful."
Nuova shuddered. "Killed her!" she said sadly. "Dreadful! I am sorry."
"Sorry?" cried Saggia. "You silly! You saved us! You won the victory bykilling her!"
"Who was she?" asked Nuova, still sadly.
"Why, the Chief of the Black Bees," said Hero, proudly and tenderly."Their greatest fighter! And you, little Nuova, alone, killed her."
Nuova looked up at him thoughtfully. "Are you glad?" she asked.
Hero turned with stupefaction to Saggia. She could only lift her handsin amazement. Nuova's mental processes were too much for them, althoughBeffa, hopping near, nodded his head wisely to himself.
"Glad? I glad? Of course, you absurd warrior!" said Hero. "We are allglad, aren't we?" he asked of the others about.
"Glad? Of course, we are glad! You saved us!" said they all.
"Well," said Nuova, smiling gently, and looking up at Hero, "if you areglad, I am glad." And then she let her head sink down again and closedher eyes.
While Saggia and Beffa and Hero had been caring for Nuova and talking toher, most of the other bees had gradually resumed their normaloccupations, the guards moving watchfully about over the platform, theforagers coming and going, and two or three cleaners scrubbing the floorhere and there to remove all stains of the battle.
But Uno, Due, and Tre had not yet gone back into the hive to resumetheir nursing work, but with a few other bees had formed a groupstanding a little way off from the group about Nuova. They werewhispering and looking and pointing toward Nuova. Uno finally left hergroup and came over and joined the bees about Nuova. She whispered to afew of them, and finally spoke out loud enough to be generally heard.
"Nuova was not an Amazon," she said. "Why should she fight? Is this theway of bees?"
Due and Tre shook their heads vigorously and murmured, "No, no."
And several other bees of their group shook their heads dubiously.
"No," spoke up Due, "this is not the bee custom. A good bee does thething she is set to do. For a nurse to use a lance! No, that is unheardof."
"No, no, it isn't done, you know," said a drone near by, wagging hishead wisely.
"If it hadn't been done, you loafer," cried Saggia angrily, "you wouldhave starved to death before we could have refilled our pantries againafter the Black Bees had taken all our food!"
"But it is not the bee way," interjected Tre; then adding boldly andtauntingly to Saggia, "Are you a new bee, too?"
"No," replied Saggia vigorously, "I am an old bee--old enough to havelearned a little more than I knew when I was a nurse bee--a loafingnurse bee," she added, looking significantly and hard at Uno, Due, andTre in turn.
They all started guiltily and began to move slowly toward the entrance,but all the time looking back malevolently at Saggia and Nuova.
"It's not the right bee way," they muttered. "It isn't the usual way."
Several other bees joined them in their muttering and head-shaking.
Just then, however, a new excitement became manifest at the hiveentrance. Those drones who had gone back into the hive were issuing nowpost-haste, while those still outside joined those coming out. To themhastened their attendants, and in a moment all was busy preparation andexpectation again.
Beffa, who had moved over to the entrance as the drones began to comeout, now came hopping and humming across the platform toward Saggia,Nuova, and Hero. As he came near he was singing:
"She comes; she comes; Principessa now would wed; She seeks the sky for marriage-bed. Let drones aside their languor fling; Bethink the prize; to be a King."
Hero started up, infected by the excitement and driven by the stillpotent bee tradition. "She is coming," he murmured, "the Princess."
All the bees were growing more and more excited. The drones began toform in a line. Their attendants worked feverishly at cleaning andpreparing them. The other bees cleared a space near the entrance, infront of the drones, whose eagerness was betrayed by their bendingforward like runners on the starting-line. Hero started forward to takehis place at the nearest end of the line. Nuova tried to stand, Saggiahelping her. She tottered as if to fall, but regained her balance. Herface was drawn and tears welled from her eyes. She pushed Saggia to oneside and totteringly followed Hero. As he moved to his place, as if in asort of daze and hypnotized and driven by another will than his, Nuovastaggered into place behind him, as attendant, and made feeble attemptsto brush his wings. He did not seem to see her nor even to realize herpresence, but kept his eyes fixed on the entrance.
The commotion among the bees increased. All watched incessantly theopening of the hive. Suddenly the Princess was seen to be coming slowlyand proudly out, still cold and set of face, but beautiful in figure andcarriage, truly queenly in all her seeming.
Three or four attendants were busy behind her, brushing her long,slender wings, and removing every speck or stain from her body. Thedrones all leaned farther forward, their eagerness infecting her. Forshe became more animated and began spreading out and fluttering herwings. The drones did the same.
Beffa was hopping about with ridiculous activity and awkwardness,humming inaudible words. Suddenly, with a jerk, Hero turned his eyesfrom the Princess and let them wander about as if seeking something.They rested on Beffa, who in response made motions in his dancing thatunmistakably directed Hero to look behind him. He did so and saw Nuova.He stared fixedly at her a moment. Then he leaned toward her and saidin a curious, tense, but almost appealing tone, as if he were asking herfor advice or help:
"The Great Courting Chase is on! A Queen is to be won! The prize is tobe a King!"
Nuova called on all her strength, physical and spiritual.
"Yes, yes," she gasped. "Be ready! Lean forward! They are starting! Youwill win!" Her voice broke a little. "You can't lose, Hero--wonderfulHero. You will be King--our King--my King. Good-bye!" She stifled a sob."Good luck! Good-bye!"
She could say no more. She turned her face away from his, sobbingunrestrainedly. Saggia, who had come to her side, caught her andsupported her just as the Princess, with wings outspread and eyes fixedoutward and upward, ran quickly to the outer edge of the platform,followed a little way behind by the drones in a group. As the Princessreached the platform's edge, she launched herself beautifully into theair and flew swiftly, first straight out and up and then curving gentlyaway to the left. One after another the drones flew after her.
Nuova gazed fixedly after the following drones. Hero's delay with Nuovamade him the last to spring into the air. But he flew so strongly thatit seemed certain that he would quickly make up for this handicap in thegreat race. Indeed, some of the onlooking bees began to call out, "Seehow Hero is gaining! He will surely win! Hero will be King!"
Nuova had strained her gaze after Hero until he with all the others hadpassed from sight far out and up in the bright sky. As she gazed she hadlifted on tiptoe and had even spread out her wings as if she would flyafter him, but
now as he disappeared she collapsed and fell back heavilywith closed eyes and a pitiful sob into Saggia's supporting embrace.
Just then Beffa came hopping and humming over to them and sang, as ifmockingly, but really with sympathetic and comforting meaning:
"Ha, ha, the sad attendant! Her champion is too slow. He'll never win the Princess, Her kiss he'll never know."