CHAPTER XXIX
THE SLUICE GATE
Cautiously and in silence they threaded their way from one branch ofthe canal to another, through the fields of grain and vegetables thatspread like a vast garden for miles across the low country. Here andthere along the banks were farmers' huts, and occasionally they passedthrough the estate of a Persian landowner who followed agriculture asthe noblest pursuit in which a man could engage, according to theteachings of his religion. In many places the canal was shut in onboth sides by reeds which reached a height of ten, or even fifteen,feet.
They had proceeded for perhaps two hours and had made so many turnsthat the Greeks had long ago lost all idea of direction, when theyreached a cluster of date-palms. Nathan guided the boat to alanding-place, and they stepped ashore.
"Jonathan, are you there?" he called softly.
"I am here," replied a guarded voice, and from among the trees stoodforth the figure of an old man. "Pull your boat ashore and follow me,"he said briefly.
They lifted the boat out of the canal and concealed it carefully amongthe rushes. The old man conducted them along a narrow path whichbrought them to a group of farm buildings, among which stood a largecountry house. They entered by the rear and passed through severaldark passages until they came to a door, before which Jonathan haltedand knocked. A deep voice from within bade them enter. They foundthemselves in a large, dimly lighted room, the walls of which werelined with cases filled with rolls of papyrus. On a long table stood ashaded lamp among scattered papyri, half unrolled, and the materialsfor writing.
A man of venerable appearance, with a spreading white beard, whichreached his girdle, rose from the table to greet them.
"This is Nehemiah, whose ancestor was Daniel the prophet, viceroy ofBabylon," Nathan said. "These are the Greeks, Clearchus of Athens andChares of Thebes, concerning whom I wrote thee," he added, turning tothe old man.
"You are welcome in this house," Nehemiah said gravely. "Jonathan,bring food and wine."
He gathered the manuscripts tenderly from the table and laid them away,setting chairs for his guests. While the refreshment was beingprepared Nathan related the adventures of their escape, to which theold man listened with close attention.
"Thou hast done well," Nehemiah said, when Nathan came to the end. "Ihave been considering that which thou told me, of the vision of theviceroy in the third year of Belshazzar, at Susa, by the River Ulai,and verily do I believe that thou art right. The rough he-goat is comeout of the West, and for the kingdom of Persia, the time of its end isat hand. I have examined the writings of Daniel, in which, as Gabrielordered him, he shut up the vision two hundred years ago. The kingdomof Israel is bound to the Archaemenian line; but if thou canst win forthy people the favor of the he-goat, thou mayst be the means of savingthem."
"I shall try," Nathan replied simply.
"Thou wilt understand," Nehemiah continued, addressing himself toClearchus, "that if I am to aid you, it must be done in secret. It isevident that you are in need of rest," he added, glancing at Chares,who was nodding over the golden goblet that he had emptied. "A hue andcry will be raised for you, but I think I can keep you safe until youhave gained strength for your long journey."
Having dismissed Jonathan, he took up the lamp and led them to a hiddenchamber in the upper part of the house, where he left them. They fellasleep at daybreak and woke at nightfall. After they had eaten,Nehemiah provided them with fresh garments and with horses of theNisaean breed, the fleetest in his stable, and gave them weapons. Healso furnished them with money for their flight.
"My men have brought me word from the city of your escape," he said,"and the Great King is filled with wrath. Ten of the guard werecrucified this morning at the gates; but Boupares so far has not beenarrested. All the court is talking about Clearchus' plunge from thewall. It is thought that Beltis herself must have borne him up, and itis even said that the Goddess was seen in the air beside him. Herpriests will make the most of it, and, should you be taken, this may beturned to account."
"What knowest thou of the pursuit, father?" Nathan asked.
"They have sent out a thousand horsemen to search the plain on thisside of the river," the old man replied. "Thou wilt use caution andhold to the unfrequented ways until the chase slackens. For the rest,put thy trust in the Most High. He will save thee out of their handsif He so wills it. Farewell."
They rode into the night under the stars, bearing away from the river,and keeping to paths known to Nathan among the reeds and groves. Atfrequent intervals they came upon one or another of the canals whichintersected the plain in all directions. Chares and Clearchus werefilled with wonder at the enormous amount of labor that had beenexpended in digging the great ditches which carried the water of theriver for irrigating the plain, and at the system of reservoirs bywhich it was stored for the dry season. Some of these formed lakes ofconsiderable size, dammed by great gates built of timber that could beraised or lowered by means of levers.
As they proceeded westward toward the desert which lay between them andthe land of Israel, the level country was broken by low ridges andhills, between which wound the canals. Vegetation became lessluxuriant and the houses less frequent.
Twice at the beginning of their ride they heard parties of horsemennear them, whom they took to be detachments of the searchers. Oncethey turned aside into a crossroad just in time to avoid a meeting.But as they approached nearer to the border between the waste and thecultivated bottom lands, no sounds reached their ears excepting thetrampling of their own horses, and they began to hope that they hadleft their pursuers behind.
"Tell me, Clearchus," Chares said, after a period of reflection, "isthere any truth in what they say about you?"
"What do you mean?" Clearchus replied.
"Why, about this Beltis, you know. Is it true that you are a modernEndymion?"
"I don't know anything about her," Clearchus said.
"I thought you had more confidence in me," the Theban continuedreproachfully. "If you think I shall say anything about it when wereach Tyre, you are mistaken. I hope I know enough to hold my tongueabout such delicate matters. Is she as handsome as they say she is?"
"Listen!" whispered Nathan, holding up his hand and drawing rein.
The others came to a halt. They had been riding up a shallow valleyalong one of the canals. Beside them rose a low ridge which separatedthem from the next depression. Beyond this ridge they could hear thebeating of hoofs and the jingling of bridles. From the sound theyjudged that twenty or thirty horsemen were advancing in a directionparallel to their own.
"The roads join half a mile farther on," Nathan whispered. "It is morethan likely that they will turn back along this one."
"Then we must make a dash for it and get there first," Chares said."Come on, I feel as though a race would do me good!"
"We might cross the ridge and fall in behind them," Clearchus suggested.
"Don't spoil sport; and besides, they would surely see us," Charesreplied. "Forward! Is not thy Beltis with us?"
Without waiting for a reply he struck in his spurs and darted forward,with the others thundering at his heels. The party beyond the ridge,hearing the hoof-beats, also broke into a gallop, evidently beingacquainted with the fact that the roads converged. Their horses,however, were no match for the Nisaeans. Neck and neck, with long, evenstrides, they raced up the road and swept past the meeting point whilethe pursuers were still a hundred yards away.
Nathan looked back and recognized the uniform of the palace guard. Thedetachment consisted of men who, he knew, were both brave and skilful,and who would not relinquish the chase while a chance of successremained. Their numbers made it impossible to think of facing them.There was nothing for it but to keep on.
Beyond the point where the roads joined the ridges became higher andsteeper, drawing together until there was barely room for the trackbeside the canal. It was no longer practicable to leave the valley,because to
climb the acclivity that shut them in on either side wouldhave been difficult work for a footman, and it was out of the questionfor horses. The gorge turned and twisted between the hills. AlthoughNathan had never travelled this road before, he drew comfort from thefact that the canal still flowed sluggishly beside them. It must leadthem eventually, he believed, to more open country.
They had ridden a little more than a mile through this defile, whichseemed once to have been the bed of a stream, when Chares, who was inthe lead, drew up with a cry of dismay. Further progress was barred bya steep dam of earth and stone. In the middle of the dam was the usualgate, built of heavy timbers and planks. The water spurted through thecracks into the bed of the canal.
"It looks as though we should have to make a stand here," the Thebancried. "We cannot surmount this."
"Are you anxious to die?" Clearchus said. "They would get above us onthe banks and spear us like so many frogs."
Nathan had thrown himself from his horse. He ran to the gate. As hehad expected, he found a narrow foot-path leading upward beside it.
"Come along," he cried. "Here is a way up. Leave the horses wherethey are."
Down the valley behind them they could hear the shouting of the guards,racing with each other in the narrow road in their eagerness to claimthe great reward that Boupares had offered for the capture of thefugitives.
Clearchus and Chares dismounted and scrambled after Nathan up the path.Their horses, deserted by their riders in the darkness, neighed shrillyand strove to follow, digging their hoofs into the sand and gravel,which fell in showers into the canal.
At the top of the path a large reservoir spread placidly far to theright and left in a basin surrounded by low hills.
Nathan ran to the gate and knocked out the wooden pins that held it inplace. It rose a few inches, and the water began to gush and gurglebeneath it. The Israelite seized a lever and thrust it into its notch,calling to Clearchus and Chares to do the same on the other side.
The pursuit had almost reached the foot of the gate when the leader ofthe detachment, a young man with a handsome face, saw that his horsewas splashing through the rising water and realized the danger thatthreatened them. He gave a sharp command to halt. He glanced quicklyforward, and then back along the way they had come, as thoughconsidering what course to take.
No time was allowed him for decision. Nathan, Clearchus, and Charesstrained at the levers.
With a sharp creak the heavy gate was loosened, and the flood thatrushed beneath it helped to force it upward.
Roaring angrily, the water foamed into the gorge, filling it from sideto side with a torrent ten feet deep that dashed impatiently againstthe walls of the tortuous channel.
The guardsmen had no chance to escape. Like men of straw, they werelifted, horse and rider together, whirled over and over, and swept downthe valley on the crest of the yellow wave. Their cries were choked inthe rush of the water.
Nathan and Clearchus dropped their levers and stood gazing at thesurface of the turbid stream. Chares joined them.
"It is a pity," he said regretfully. "They deserved a better death. Iwish we could have had a bout with them; but it may be all for thebest. Let them go as a sacrifice to My Lady Beltis. By Dionysus, shehas given us back our horses, too! Look here!"
One of the Nisaeans had gained the top of the dam and another was closebehind him. The third had been overtaken by the flood and wasstruggling piteously for a foothold with his fore feet. Chares caughthim by the bit and dragged him up to safety. They mounted and struckoff at random among the hills, seeking to get as far away as possiblebefore daylight should break.
This was the only direct encounter that they had with the soldiers ofthe pursuit. Skirting the desert, they made their way northward andwestward until all danger of capture had passed. Once, in seeking tocross an arm of the sandy waste, they went astray and nearly perishedfrom thirst. On another occasion they were surrounded by a band ofrobbers, from whom they barely escaped. This last adventure took placeon the eastern slope of Mount Amanus on the borders of Cilicia, wherethey arrived after a month of wandering. It was here that they beganonce more to hear the name of Alexander and to feel the currents of themighty storm that was gathering on the flank of the empire of Darius.