Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-03-09
THE PEOPLE
OF THE MIST
By H. RIDER hHGGARD.
copyright, 1898, by the Author.]

ward, and when it had died away she also
made her obeisance before the idol
Away with her that she may seek her
lord in his own place, cried Nam.
Away with herl Her day is done, :"
echoed the multitude Then, before Juan
ma could interfere, before she could even
speak, for, be it remembered, she alone
understood all that was said, the two
priests who guarded the doomed woman
rent tho robe from her, and with a single
! swing of their strong arms hurled her
backward far into the pool of seething wa
tiers She fell with q fearful shrek and
lay floating on their surface Just where
the moonlight beat most brightly, flung
this way and that by the eddy of the whirl-
pool. All who could of tho multitude bent
forward to see her end, and overcome by
q fearful fascination Leonard flung himself
on his face, and craning his head over the
stone of the idols hand watched also, for
her struggling shape was almost immedi-
ately beneath him. Another minute and
be would have foregoDe the hope of win
ming the treasure he came SO far TO seek
not to have yielded to the impulse
For as he stared the waters beneath the
feet of the idol were agitated as pond is
agitated by the rush of a pike when he
dashos at his prey. Then for an instant
the light cleaned upon dull, enormous
shape, and suddenly the head of croco-
die reared itself out of the pool, the head
of crocodile, but of such crocodile as he
had never heard or dreamed of, for tho
head alone was broader than the chest of
the biggest man, its duh eyes were tho
size Of mans fist, its yellow fangs were
like the teeth of lion, and from its lower
jaw hung tentacles, or Jumps of white
flesh, which at that distance gave it the
appearance of being bearded like a goat;
also the skin OF this huge reptile, which
could not have measured less than so feet
in length by feet in depth, was here and
there corrodcd into rusty excrescences, as
though some fungus or lichen had grown
upon it like gray moss on an ancient wall
Indeed its appearance seemed to point to
extreme antiquity,
Hearing the disturbance in the water,
the. reptile had emerged from the cave
where it dwelt beneath the feet of the
idol to seek its accustomed food, which con-
sisted of the human victims that were cast
to 1t at certain intervals. 1t reared its
hideous head and glared around Then of
a sudden the monster and the victim van
ished together into the depths
Sick with horror, Leonard drew himself
back into sitting posture and glanced
toward Juanna. She was crouched in her
ivory chair overcome, and her eyes vera
closed, either through faintness or to shut
out the sight of dread. Then he looked
down at Otter The dwarf was sitting as
still as the stone etfigy that supported him
and staring fixedly at the water Evi-
IDENTIFY in all his varied experience he had
seen no such thing as this.
THE snake has accepted the sacrifice, "
cried Nam again. THE snake has taken
her who was his bride to dwell with him
in his holy house. Let the offerings be
completed, for this is but the first fruit.
Take Olfan, WHO was king, and offer him
up. Cast down the white servants of the
mother and offer them up. Seize the slaves
who stood before her in the plain and offer
them up. Lead forth the captives and of
fer them up. Let the sacrifice of the crown
ing of kings be accomplished according to
custom, that the god whose name is Jal may
be appeascd; that he may listen to the
pleading of the mother; that fruitfulness
may fill the land and peace be within its
gates. -
Thus he cried, while Leonard felt his
blood turn cold and his hair rise upon his
the words he could guess their purport,
and his instinct told him that a great dan
ger threatened them. He looked at the
two priests who stood by, and they glared
angrlly on him in answer. Then his cour-
age came back to him. AT least he had his
rifle and would fight for his life 1t would
go hard if he could not put bullet through
one or both of them before they got hold
on him.
Meanwhile the priests below had seized
the king Olfan, whose giant form they
were dragging toward the stone of sacri-
flee, but OF sudden for the first time Jul
anna spoke, and deep silence fell upon
the temple and all within it.
"Hearkcn, People of the Mist, " she said,
and her voice falling from that great
height seemed small and far AWAY, though
so clear that every word was audible in
the stiffness of the night.
Hear me, People of the Mist and We
priests of the snakel AGA is come again,
and Jal is come again, and ye have given
them back their rule after many genera
tions, and in their hands lie the lives of
every one of you. AS the old tradition
told of them, SO they arc, the mother and
the child, and the one is clothed with
beauty, the symbol of life and of the fruit
full earth, and the other is black and hide
Gus, the symbol of death and the evil that
walks upon the earth, and ye would do
sacrifice TO Jal that he may be appeascd
according to the ancient law and listen to
the pleading of tho mother that fruitful
ness may fill the land. Not so shall Jal be
appeased, and not because of the sacrifice
of men shall AGA plead with him that
prosperity may reign in the land.
Behold, the old law is done awayl We
give you new law. Now is the hour of
reconciliation. Now life and death walk
hand i'll hand, and the hearts of AGA and
jail have grown gentle through the ages,
and they 10 longer crave the blood of men
as an Offering to their majesty. Hence
forth you shall bring them fruits and flow
ers and not the lives of men. See, in my
hand hold winter lilies, red and white;
blood red they are and white as snow.
Now the red flower, token of sacrifice and
slaughter, crush and cast away, but the
white bloom Of love and peace / set upon
my breast. 1t is done. Gone is tho old
law. See, it falls into the place of the
snake, its home, but the new law blossoms
above my heart and in it. Shall it not be
SO, my children, People of the Mist? viii
ye not accept my mercy and my love?''
The multitude watched the red blooms
as, bruised and broken, through the light
and the shadow, they fell slowly to the
seething surface of the pool. Then it looked
up like one man and saw the white lily
set upon Juanna's whittier breast. They
saw, and moved by common impulse
rose with sound like the rush of the
wind and shouted:
Gone is the day of blood and sacrifice
Come is the day of peace We thank you,
mother and we take your mercy and your
love"
Then they were silent, and again there
was sound like that of the wind as all
their thousands sank back to the seats of
stone.
Now Nam spoke again in a voice of
fury that rang through the still air like a
clarion.
What is this that my ears hear?' he
cried. Are We mad, o ye jewellers in the
mist, or does the mother speak with
charmed voice? Shall the ancient worship
be changed and in an hour? Nay, not the
gods themselves can alter their own wor-
ship. Stay on, We priests, siay on, or We
yourselves shall die the dreadful death. /"
The priest below heard, and Selling the
struggling king cast him with difficulty
down upon the stone.
Leonard, Leonard" cried Juanna in
English, addressing him for the first time
by his Christian name, as even then he
noticed but looking straight before her
that none might guess to whom she spoke
These priests are going to kill you and
nil of us cxceut Otter and myself If won